►Vision and Mission
►History
►Board of Directors

Members of the Westchester End-of-Life Coalition are people who live and work in Westchester County, NY. We believe in a community-based approach to the end of life. We are dedicated to improving the quality of life for those with a life-limiting diagnosis.

Vision

A community where all those with life limiting conditions are able to die with dignity, at peace, pain-free, in a place and manner of their choosing; a community where persons who are dying and their families receive competent, compassionate and timely care and support.

Mission  
• Educating the community about end-of-life issues and expanding awareness of  the importance of these issues.
• Informing the public about available services related to end-of-life care by functioning as a clearing-house and a conduit for networking.
• Identifying the gaps in services and promoting the establishment of services that will fill those gaps.
• Promoting a community where the dying and their caregivers receive the medical, social and spiritual support they need.
• Advocating with policy makers and legislators for laws and regulations that will improve the end-of-life experience.
The Coalition is mindful of the need to reach all residents in our ethnically and economically diverse community and to communicate at all levels of health literacy.

History
In 2001-2002, the Health Advocacy Graduate Program at Sarah Lawrence College and the Service Board of Jansen Memorial Hospice jointly organized "Understanding the End of Life," a series of six educational programs for the public.
 
The sessions were very well attended by concerned citizens and professional health care workers from around Westchester County. All expressed the need and desire to improve the end-of-life experience in our community. The Westchester End-of-Life Coalition was founded to build on the interest and energy this series created.
 
In July 2002, the Coalition was formally registered with Rallying Points, a Robert Woods Johnson Foundation-funded initiative to support the efforts of community end-of-life coalitions. We began building our membership base in September 2002, an effort that continues.

During the fall and winter of 2002-2003, the Coalition continued its educational programs offering three lectures and discussion forums for the public. The Coalition has held many educational programs each year since then. For a full list of programming, see our past calendars
 
Our campaign, “Everybody Needs a Proxy,” began in 2005, funded in part by the Community Fund of Bronxville, Eastchester and Tuckahoe.  This widespread effort to promote the completion of New York State Health Care Proxies has gained County-wide recognition and was featured in a Journal News editorial.

The Westchester End-of-Life Coalition was incorporated in New York State in July 2003. The Coalition is registered as a not-for-profit corporation with tax-exempt - 501(c)(3) - status and is eligible to receive tax-exempt donations.

Westchester End-of-Life Coalition Board of Directors
 
Officers
Christina Staudt, Ph.D. ~ President
is a co-founder of the Coalition. She is active with Jansen Memorial Hospice as a patient care volunteer and as a member of the Fund Board, responsible for outreach activities. She co-chairs the Columbia University Seminar on Death, an interdisciplinary and inter-institutional forum on issues related to death. Her background also includes a Ph.D. in art history and a career as an entrepreneur.

Marsha Hurst, Ph.D. ~ Vice President and Secretary
is a co-founder of the Coalition.  She is past Director of the Health Advocacy master's degree program at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY, where she taught courses on the history of healthcare in the US and on women and health. Her doctorate is in Political Science and she has done post-doctoral work in community medicine and medical sociology. Her current research interests are in the areas of women's illness narratives, and issues of ethics and advocacy.

Nathan Ionascu, MD ~ Vice President
has over 30 years experience in caring for and treating children and adolescents. He has a Certificate in Bioethics, and is a member of the Bioethics Institute at NY Medical College. He was a Visiting Scholar at the Hastings Center for Bioethics. He is a member of Children's Hospice International, National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) and the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC). He is a spokesperson on hospice and palliative care, on advance directives/proxies, and on end-of-life issues. He is presently doing research on how to best communicate with children and adolescents who have a life-limiting illness, about their prognosis.

Jane Nusbaum, MA, ~ Vice President
is the past Policy Initiative Coordinator in the Health Advocacy Program at Sarah Lawrence College. She has been a member of the Health Advocacy Faculty at Sarah Lawrence and a consultant on a project at The Hastings Center regarding communicating with families of patients near the end of life.  She has written articles and presented papers at academic conferences on women’s health and history of health advocacy. Jane is a public and social policy advocate in the community and on the governmental level.

John Stoffel, M.Sc. ~ Treasurer
has an M. Sc. in Mechanical Engineering and is the owner of a specialized machining company, Stoffel Polygon Systems, in Tuckahoe, NY.  He has owned and operated several manufacturing companies over the past forty years.  He was recruited by the founders to provide business insights to the Coalition, and to fill the office of Treasurer.
 
Board Members

Sherry Birnbaum, CSW
Director, Pathways to Care
Westchester Jewish Community Services

Julie Buyon, MA
Palliative Care Patient Advocate, Bronx Lebanon Hospital
Advisory Board Member, Graduate Program in Health Advocacy,
Sarah Lawrence College

Lyla Correoso, MD
Bronx Medical Director for Hospice and Palliative Care
VNSNY Hospice Care

Olivia (Vicki) Ford, M.Ed.
Eastchester Councilwoman

Susan Gerbino, Ph.D.
Coordinator, Extension Site Program
At Sarah Lawrence College Campus
New York University School of Social Work

Mary Beth Morrissey, Esq., MPH
Chair, Westchester End-of-Life Regional Conference Committee
Attorney at Law

Frances M. Pantaleo, Esq.
Walsh & Amicucci LLP

Joseph Sacco, MD, ABFM, ABHPM
Director, Palliative Medicine Consultation Service
Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center
Assistant Professor of Family and Social Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Robert Seabring, BSE, MBA
Retired Citigroup Banker