The National Board for Certification of Hospice and Palliative Care Nurses (NBCHPN®) recently certified Angela DeMasi, RN in palliative care (CHPN). Ms. DeMasi is a care coordinator at Central Vermont Medical Center.
“It is rewarding to help people maximize the quality of their life when they have advanced illness,” noted Angela. “Palliative care helps patients live their life to the fullest.”
Central Vermont Medical Center has a palliative care team in place. Members of the team include Angela, hospitalists Dr. Kristin Burdick and Dr. Lynn Wilkinson, and Carolyn Herz, spiritual care coordinator. Dr. Burdick is spending a portion of her time developing and implementing an inpatient palliative care program at the hospital. “Angela is a valued member of this team,” stated Dr. Burdick. “This month we are beginning to do palliative care consults on inpatients who would benefit from this extra layer of support.”
Angela received her Associates degree and RN licensure at Vermont Technical College and then participated in the RN to BSN program at the University of Vermont. She is currently working on obtaining pain management certification.
The palliative care service at CVMC enhances quality of life by relieving pain and other physical, psychological, and spiritual symptoms in the population of patients who have advanced illness. They assist patients and families with complicated medical decisions around the goals of a patient’s care. The palliative care team works alongside the patient’s doctors and nurses.