Mohana Karlekar Archive — Page 1 of 1

July 20, 2026

Palliative Care team manifests dreams of butterbeer and Harry Potter

After Mike Guth and his family learned that his pancreatic cancer had advanced beyond treatment, the Vanderbilt Health Palliative Care team worked magic to make a dream trip possible.

By Jill Clendening
September 1, 2023

Holding hands one more time: Compassion and collaboration allow couple to spend the most precious time together

Virginia and Tommy Stevens, both 91, have been married 69 years and this was the time they needed each other the most. Compassionate problem-solving by the Palliative Care Unit and the Trauma Intensive Care Unit teams brought the loving couple together one more time.

By Jill Clendening
Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Palliative Care Unit staff recently celebrated a decade of providing care to individuals facing severe illness or injury on the dedicated unit in the Round Wing of Medical Center North.
October 13, 2022

Palliative Care Unit celebrates a decade of providing patient- and family-centered care

Vanderbilt’s Palliative Care Unit is celebrating 10 years to patients and families.

By Jill Clendening
June 4, 2020

Bereavement calls helping to aid grieving families

There has been nothing normal about the COVID-19 pandemic, and grieving the loss of a life at a time when families have been unable to gather beside a bedside to say goodbye, or to even hold a traditional funeral, has been one of the worst consequences of this health crisis’s uncharted territory.

By Jill Clendening
June 13, 2019

Diversity of conference attendees mirrors increasing support for palliative care

More than 80 people attended a Palliative Care Conference in Nashville recently that was led by faculty members of the Palliative Care programs at VUMC and the Nashville VA Medical Center, and VUMC Center for Biomedical Ethics.

By Jill Clendening
Mohana Karlekar, MD, medical director of the Palliative Care program, right, teaches medical and nursing students about how to have positive conversations with patients about advance directives for healthcare.
April 4, 2019

Events to focus on education about advance directives

Health care professionals throughout the United States are encouraging patients and their families to document their preferences related to their health care during an awareness campaign known as National Healthcare Decisions Day, celebrated on Tuesday, April 16. Vanderbilt University Medical Center is hosting several events for employees to promote the importance of completing an advance directive for health care.

By Jill Clendening