Marcia Cederdahl, AseraCare Hospice Clinical Services Regional Manager, Receives the State Impact Award from the Nebraska Hospice and Palliative Care Partnership

Nebraska, May 11, 2010 -- The Nebraska Hospice and Palliative Care Partnership (NHPCP), the state’s hospice association, recently honored end-of-life professionals at its annual banquet. Marcia Cederdahl, RN, BS, an AseraCare Clinical Services Regional Manager based in Lincoln, received the association’s highest honor. 

The 2010 State Impact Award was given to an individual, group, or organization that has made a tremendous impact on end-of-life care in Nebraska through leadership, innovation, policy change or education, and promotion of good end-of-life-care. Cederdahl oversees AseraCare clinical services in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri.

Cederdahl won the award for her work with AseraCare as well as for her achievements as the former Administrator of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Office of Outpatient and In-Home Care Services. The NHPCP heralded Cederdahl’s “pioneering role with hospice spanning three decades.”

According to Angie Hollis, Vice President of Clinical Services for AseraCare Hospice, Cederdahl is “a formidable advocate for a patient’s and a family’s right to individualized and holistic end-of-life care. Marcia’s tenacity and caring spirit exemplify the heart of hospice.”

Cederdahl earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Health Education from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. She earned her Registered Nurse diploma from The Bryan Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, which is now the BryanLGH College of Health Sciences School of Nursing.

The NHPCP this year also awarded Emily Schmit, RN, CHPN, of AseraCare Hospice, Lincoln, with the 2010 Spirit of Hospice Award for her dedication to the hospice philosophy of care. Hollis said that Schmit “embraces holistic care for patients, reaching well beyond palliative medicine to address social, psychological, and spiritual issues that can impact patients’ conditions.”

Numerous AseraCare volunteers were also were recognized by the association as “Outstanding Hospice Volunteers,” including:

Marian Czapla, AseraCare Hospice, York
DiAnne Gilg, AseraCare Hospice, O’Neill
Judy Jacobsen, AseraCare Hospice, Grand Island
Stephanie McIntosh, AseraCare Hospice, Kearney
Marv Stahl, AseraCare Hospice, Norfolk
Katrina Wells-Partain, AseraCare Hospice, Omaha