The Visiting Nurse Association of Porter County is proud to announce that Dr. Michael Weiss, VNA Hospice Medical Director, has received his Board Certification in Hospice and Palliative Care from the American Board of Internal Medicine.
Dr. Weiss was instrumental in the establishment of the VNA Hospice program in 1983 and has served as its medical director since that time. Recently, Dr. Weiss retired from private practice and became full time medical director for the hospice program.
“As a medical student and as a resident, especially during oncology training, things just didn’t feel right,” says Dr. Weiss. “I thought there was more we could do for our patients who had a terminal diagnosis. During the late 70’s and early 80’s the hospice movement was gaining ground across the country. The VNA was on the cutting edge and I was honored to play a role in establishing one of the first hospice programs in Indiana.”
Certification in the hospice and palliative medicine subspecialty is designed to recognize excellence among physicians who are specialists in the care of seriously ill patients with a life-limiting illness. “Dr. Weiss is most certainly an expert in the compassionate care of hospice patients. This certification simply confirms what we and our hospice patients and families have always known,” says Kathleen Holycross, VNA President and CEO.
Dr. Weiss completed his medical degree at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine and his internal medicine residency at Southwestern Michigan Area Health Education Center in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he also served as the Chief Resident of Internal Medicine. He has been certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine since 1980.
This year, the VNA is celebrating its 30th anniversary of providing comfort and hospice care in Northwest Indiana and, along with Dr. Weiss, will use the occasion to spread the word about the benefits of hospice care for both patients and their families. In addition, Dr. Weiss’ goal is to provide the community education about palliative care for those patients who are not ready for hospice, but would benefit from pain management and symptom control protocols offered through hospice.
The VNA is a nonprofit home health care agency serving Porter County and contiguous portions of Lake, LaPorte, Stark and Jasper counties. Services provided include skilled nursing; physical, occupational and speech therapy; home health aides; social services, telehealth, home and inpatient hospice care and bereavement programs. The VNA also provides assistive care, including Meals on Wheels, Homemaker/Companion Care and Lifeline as well as grief support for children and their families at the VNA Phoenix Center.
For more information about the VNA and programs and services offered, call the VNA at (219) 462-5195 or visit the VNA’s website at www.VNAportercounty.org.