Ohio’s Hospice is committed to educating medical students, residents and fellows about hospice and palliative care. As experts in the field, our staff members are shaping the future of hospice and palliative care.  

“We are fortunate to have an exceptional care team committed to medical education,” said Dr. Cleanne Cass, FAAHPM, FAAFP, CAQ, Geriatrics, program director of the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program. “Our healthcare providers are honored and privileged to help educate the next generation of hospice and palliative care physicians.”  

The interdisciplinary care team at Ohio’s Hospice includes board-certified hospice and palliative care physicians, hospice-certified nurses and personal care specialists (state-tested nursing assistants), social workers, chaplains, bereavement counseling professionals, and volunteers. 

Fellowship Programs 

Ohio’s Hospice has a long-standing relationship with the hospice and palliative medicine (HPM) fellowship program at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine. The HPM fellowship is uniquely structured to maximize individualized and one-on-one educational opportunities. The one-year fellowship is comprised of 13 rotations in pain management, supportive care, and clinical research.  

In 2021, Ohio’s Hospice partnered with Kettering Health to create its own Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program. The fellowship recently received continued accreditation status from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The ACGME sets standards for U.S. graduate medical education (residency and fellowship) programs and the institutions that sponsor them.  

“Having fellows from the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, Kettering Health’s Hematology-Oncology department, and our own program with Soin Medical Center helps us fulfill our mission of providing superior care and superior services to each patient and family we are privileged to serve,” Dr. Cass said. “By training these fellows, we are bringing dedicated and experienced talent in hospice and palliative care to the communities we are honored to serve throughout Ohio.”  

Training for Medical Students and Medical Residents 

In addition to training fellows in hospice and palliative medicine, the physicians and the interdisciplinary care team at Ohio’s Hospice provide training to medical students and medical residents.  

In 2022-2023, 53 medical students, medical residents and fellows rotated through Ohio’s Hospice to learn about hospice and palliative care.  

• 5 – First-Year Family Medicine Medical Residents 
• 5 – Second-Year Family Medicine Residents 
• 1 – Third-Year Family Medicine Resident 
• 10 – Internal and Family Medicine Residents (opting for an elective rotation) 
• 5 – Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellows 
• 3 – Hematology/Oncology Fellows 
• 24 – Fourth-Year Medical Students 

These medical students, medical residents and fellows came from five different programs to learn about hospice and palliative medicine at Ohio’s Hospice. 

• 7 – Soin Medical Center – Kettering Health 
• 5 – Kettering Health Main Campus 
• 13 – Kettering Health Dayton (formerly Grandview Medical Center) 
• 4 – Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine 
• 24 – Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine 

In 2023-2024, Ohio’s Hospice has 46 learners scheduled to rotate in hospice and palliative medicine.  

Of these learners, two are requesting Ohio’s Hospice as an elective rotation, rather than a mandatory rotation. Hiep Luu, DO, a 2021-2022 fellow, signed on as a physician with Ohio’s Hospice. Another previous learner, Sarah Doell, DO, was named one of the two fellows for the 2023-2024 Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship offered through Kettering Health’s Soin Medical Center and Ohio’s Hospice.  

Four of the current learners have expressed their intention to pursue hospice and palliative medicine upon graduation as a result of their rotations with Ohio’s Hospice. 

“Our vision is for this fellowship to be the leader in hospice and palliative medicine education,” Dr. Cass said. “Through our commitment to medical education, we are educating these learners on recognizing the unusual challenges of caring for patients at the end of life, the pressure of cumulative grief, and the art of living with dying.”  

Interdisciplinary Care Teams 

Ohio’s Hospice is grateful to the interdisciplinary care teams from several sites who are involved in educating these learners. They include: 

• Bethany Village 
• Dayton Children’s 
• Kettering Health  
• Soin Medical Center – Kettering Health 
• Ohio’s Hospice of Butler & Warren Counties  
• Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton  
• Ohio’s Hospice Chaplain Services Team 
• Ohio’s Hospice Communications Team 
• Ohio’s Hospice Community-Based Teams 
• Ohio’s Hospice Focused Care^TM Team 
• Ohio’s Hospice Hospitality Team 
• Ohio’s Hospice Interdisciplinary Teams (IDT) 
• Ohio’s Hospice Leadership Teams 
• Ohio’s Hospice Pathways of Hope^SM Team 
• Ohio’s Hospice Pharmacy Team 
• Pure Healthcare

“The healthcare professionals on the interdisciplinary care teams at these locations make these medical rotations possible for the medical students, medical residents and fellows we are honored and privileged to teach,” Dr. Cass said. “We thank them for their commitment to our mission.”  

Reflections on Medical Education Received Through Ohio’s Hospice 

Ohio’s Hospice received feedback from learners about their experience. Here are a few of their comments:  

• This rotation was the most welcoming rotation I had during medical school in terms of providing preparatory materials, space to work and learn, and connecting me with different team members. This amounts to the best teaching environment I experienced. I liked being able to see the different aspects of hospice including chaplain work, palliative care, and outpatient and inpatient hospice. 
• Dr. Ali Jaffery is an amazing doctor and educator! He was always engaging and offering knowledge with each patient encounter. 
• I’ve absolutely enjoyed my rotation. I’ve learned so many things I will take with me into residency and beyond. 
• I felt very welcome as a student. I could tell that the administrators and doctors were very committed to my learning about palliative care/hospice. I would highly recommend this rotation to any student. 
• Overall, this was an amazing experience. Before starting medical school, I volunteered for a hospice. However, I learned so much from this experience. Dr. Ali Jaffery did a great job of explaining patients’ prognosis and why certain medications optimized their health. I enjoyed being present on the chaplain visits and seeing how he communicated about spirituality and religion. Overall, this was an experience, and I am glad to have been able to rotate here. 
• I had a wonderful time on this rotation and honestly learned more in two weeks than I have in some of my longer rotations. It is difficult to put into words the value and benefit of this rotation. It has been such a pleasure that I hope to pursue the fellowship next year. 

For more information about hospice and palliative medical education, click here or call 937.256.9507, ext. 4418.  

Pharmacy Fellowship 

In addition to the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship, Ohio’s Hospice offers a two-year Pharmacy Fellowship program through Cedarville University School of Pharmacy. Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton is the practice site.  

The fellowship includes research, teaching and clinical experience. It provides fellows with knowledge and experience in the use of research tools to evaluate clinical, economic and humanistic outcomes related to pain management and palliative care.  

The fellowship also trains pharmacists to provide quality, hospice-related clinical pharmacy services that improve clinical, economic and humanistic patient outcomes while being empathetic, creative, culturally sensitive, and interprofessional as they assist in problem-solving, regardless of patient resources and within budget limitations.  

Pharmacy Fellow 

Emmanuel Ayanjoke, PharmD, was the 2021-2023 pharmacy fellow. He led a research project with Dr. Hiep Luu, and Jamie Kuhlman, RN, on the Macy catheter titled, “Comparing the Effectiveness of Subcutaneous and Intravenous vs. Micro-enema Medication Administration for Symptom Management in Hospice Patients at End of Life.”  

The primary purpose of this study was to further examine the observations and hypothesis of clinical staff at Ohio’s Hospice that less breakthrough doses are needed for medications delivered via micro-enema versus intravenous or subcutaneous delivery and that symptoms are controlled more quickly via micro-enema (ME) versus subcutaneous or intravenous delivery. 

Dr. Ayanjoke also served as a preceptor for several pharmacy students, mostly from Cedarville University and Ohio Northern University, who are completing a rotation in Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experience at Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton.  

For more information about the Pharmacy Fellowship, contact Aleda M. H. Chen, interim dean, assistant dean, and associate professor at Cedarville University School of Pharmacy (amchen@cedarville.edu).