Rea & Associates Nonprofit Executive Director of the Year Award
Hospice of the Western Reserve is in a unique situation when it comes to community service. End-of-life decisions are deeply personal, but they’re deeply personal decisions that a great many people and/or their relatives will need to make some day.
Hospice isn’t just about a single caregiver and bedside care. With that in mind, Hospice of the Western Reserve, led by CEO David Simpson, has made it a community service mission to educate Northeast Ohioans on the end of life, the decisions that need to be made and how to minimize problems at what can be an already stressful time for patients, families and caregivers.
To help their community service and patient care efforts, Hospice of the Western Reserve has expanded its footprint to include 10 offices in six counties, including an internationally recognized 42-bed Hospice House, which has served more than 10,000 people since 1995. Under Simpson’s leadership, Hospice has also implemented specialized programs that address cardiopulmonary disease, renal disease, dementia and a recently launched program that specializes in the needs of veterans.
Simpson helped launch the Hospice Institute in 1997. The institute provides continuing education on end-of-life care for health care professionals and training for Case Western Reserve University medical students. The institute also collaborates with area institutions of higher learning on research projects involving end-of-life care. The Hospice Institute is the only nonhospital and nonacademic organization that is accredited by the Ohio State Medical Association.
Simpson has also began implementing a number of modern business practices into the administration at Hospice of the Western Reserve, aimed at helping the organization more effectively carry out its community service and patient care missions. Simpson has added the problem-solving principles of adaptive design to Hospice’s organizational model. Under adaptive design, ideal patient care is the ultimate goal — getting patients exactly what they need, exactly when they need it, and immediately responding to problems without wasting any resources.
In addition, Simpson has established a director, who has implemented a strong statistical base for management decision-making and participation in national benchmarking. All of it helps keep Hospice fit and focused on providing education and service to the area.
How to reach: Hospice of the Western Reserve, (216) 383-2222, (216) 231-8650 or www.hospicewr.org
