MIAMI, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Sharon Latson has joined VITAS Innovative Hospice Care(R) as senior director of access initiatives. In this key role, Latson is responsible for development of national programs and initiatives that will expand the awareness of and access to both VITAS and hospice services in underserved communities.
Latson brings a wealth of experience in community relations and outreach to diverse populations. She has worked at the forefront of awareness for hospice care and advance care planning in communities of color. Latson coordinated the outreach campaign for the critically acclaimed 2000 national PBS broadcast of On Our Own Terms: Moyers on Dying. In addition, Latson secured major funding and served as the director for The Last Miles of the Way Home: A National Conference to Improve End-of-Life Care for African Americans. She also headed a national project for the development of a culturally sensitive end-of-life curriculum for health care providers titled A Progressive Palliative Care Educational Curriculum for the Care of African Americans at Life's End (APPEAL). APPEAL was recently awarded a Quality of Care grant from the Aetna Foundation.
Latson knows the value of ongoing partnerships in issues of health, and has developed strong relationships with key national organizations whose primary focus is the improvement of quality care in underserved communities.
Latson serves on the boards of directors of the Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa, Women Living with Pain Initiative and the Intercultural Cancer Council.
She holds a bachelor's degree in public relations from Columbia College in Chicago. She resides in Chicago and is the mother of two adult children.
About VITAS
VITAS Innovative Hospice Care(R), a pioneer and leader in the hospice movement since 1978, is the nation's largest provider of end-of-life care. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, VITAS (pronounced VEE-tahs) operates 39 hospice programs in 15 states (Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin). VITAS employs 7,853 professionals who care for terminally ill patients daily, primarily in the patients' homes, but also in the company's 24 inpatient hospice units as well as in hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities/residential care facilities for the elderly. At the conclusion of the second quarter of 2005, VITAS reported an average daily census of 9,913.
VITAS Innovative Hospice CareCONTACT: Mark Cohen, VP-Communications & Public Relations of VITASHealthcare Corporation, +1-305-350-5905; or Deborah Adams, AccountSupervisor, +1-202-944-1903, for Hill & Knowlton