Abstract
I believe it was around 1978 when I first met Florence Wald. I was at the University of Michigan conducting a survey of hospices in the United States and met with various leaders in the field. How could I not meet Florence Wald. Dean Wald had convened a conference at Yale in 1966 where clinicians and scholars working in end-of-life care met. Among those attending the conference were Dame Cicely Saunders, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Zelda Foster, Colin Murray Parkes, Ray Duff, and Ed Dobihal (Foster, 2001). This interdisciplinary meeting “provided a momentum that would shape the interdisciplinary course of hospice in America” (Foster, p. 45). Florence had engaged in a research project that was foundational to her work in the field of death and dying. “A Nurse’s Study of Care for Dying Patients” was awarded $31,209 for each of 2 years. The American Nurses Foundation provided her with an additional $4200 for her work (Wald, 1994). Mrs. Wald had left her Deanship at the Yale School of Nursing to conduct the nurse’s study together with Dr. Morris Wessel and Rev. Ed Dobihal and others exploring end-of-life care for a small group of individuals. Her pioneering work led to the establishment of Hospice, Inc. and later the Connecticut Hospice. This work was interdisciplinary and her activities are reflective of evidence-based practice. Florence Wald was a pioneer of hospice care in the United States and a charter member of the International Work Group on Death, Dying, and Bereavement. A revered member of that organization, Florence has received many honors: honorary degrees from Mt. Holyoke College and Yale University; an academic chair established at the Yale School of Nursing (YSN); and induction into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, and the Hall of Fame of the American Nurses Association. She was also honored as
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call