MIAMI, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Patricia Shigley, RN, MSN, MBA, has been promoted to national patient care administrator of VITAS Innovative Hospice Care(R), the nation’s largest provider of end-of-life care and a pioneer in the hospice movement.
Shigley, a six-year VITAS veteran, most recently served as senior patient care administrator for VITAS’ San Diego program, where she was responsible for the clinical direction of more than 450 hospice patients as well as the expansion of clinical competency skills for nearly 350 employees.
As one of three national patient care administrators, Shigley will have specific areas of responsibility, including patient satisfaction and customer service, clinical integration initiatives following acquisitions, and coaching and mentoring programs for VITAS employees to further enhance the delivery of quality patient and family care.
Shigley will continue to work from VITAS’ San Diego office and will remain involved with the community as an instructor for the University of Phoenix at San Diego, where she teaches courses for healthcare management and nursing students.
Prior to her work with VITAS, Shigley served in the US Army Nurse Corps, working in the cardiac unit, emergency room and on search and rescue missions. Shigley received her nursing degree from the Academy of Health Sciences at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. She earned her master’s degree in nursing along with her master’s of business administration degree in healthcare management from the University of Phoenix.
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 Care
CONTACT: Mark Cohen, VP - Communications & Public Relations of VITASHealthcare Corporation, +1-305-350-5905; or Deborah Adams, AccountSupervisor of Hill & Knowlton, +1-202-944-1903, for VITAS InnovativeHospice Care