(l-r) Hospice aides Jessica Ruley, Lynda Souza, Sylvia Fournier, Executive Director Carol Mahier, Jim Hooper and Sandey Marchand receive certification from the NBCHPN.

Five Hospice Southeastern Connecticut hospice aides passed a rigorous exam to become certified or recertified by the National Board for Certification of Hospice and Palliative Nurses (NBCHPN).  Jim Hooper, Jessica Ruley, Sylvia Fournier and Sandey Marchand all were recertified as Nursing Assistants, and Lynda received certification for the first time.  Each showed competency in their field with tests measuring the knowledge of Nursing Assistants working in end-of-life care.

The NBCHPN is a national organization that advances quality in the provision of care to patients and families facing life-limiting illnesses through certification of health professionals. Certification is sought and earned by hospice aides on a voluntary basis, and is widely recognized by health care systems, insurers and patients as an essential tool to judge that a hospice aide has the knowledge, experience and skills for providing quality hospice and palliative care.

“We are extremely proud of all of our hospice aides, most especially these five who have proven their commitment to maintaining the highest professional level of care when working with the terminally ill and their families,” said Carol L. Mahier, Executive Director, Hospice Southeastern Connecticut.  “As an agency, we encourage our hospice aides and nurses to achieve the highest level of excellence, not only for our patients but for their own careers.”

Hospice Southeastern CT provides care in the home and often in skilled nursing facilities for those facing the end of their life, regardless of age, disease or inability to pay.  The organization also provides bereavement services for families in New London County free of charge, regardless of whether the death occurred under hospice care or not.