Matt Frierdich

New initiative pairs volunteers with palliative care patients

As a nurse working with critically ill patients with orders to not resuscitate, Rebecca Hixson, R.N., has often lingered in a patient’s room to complete her routine charting if she felt they were nearing death and no family or friends were around. But Hixson now hopes a new volunteer program at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) will mean these patients will always have someone by their side at the end of life.

Touchstone Project seeks to reinforce positive connections

Those are some of the words engraved on more than 500 palm-sized stones that Vanderbilt’s Department of Pastoral Care will give to staff during Pastoral Care Week, Oct. 20-25.