Providence, RI –March 2006.

Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island (HHCRI) is pleased to announce that Terry Rochon, a Nurse Practitioner and Palliative Care Consultant at HHCRI, is this year’s recipient of The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) State Award for Excellence for Nurse Practitioners. The award will be presented at the Academy’s 21 st Annual National Conference in Grapevine, Texas, June 20-24, 2006.

The prestigious State Award for Nurse Practitioner Excellence recognizes a nurse practitioner who demonstrates excellence in practice, research, nurse practitioner education, or community affairs.

A strong patient advocate, Ms. Rochon has played an active role in shaping end-of-life care in Rhode Island, especially in the long-term care settings. She has worked in the area of hospice and palliative care nursing for over 25 years. Her accomplishments include the following:

• Developed a Palliative Consult Service for Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island that offers expertise in pain and symptom management to patients living with life-threatening illnesses in nursing homes.
• Served as a consultant for a local and national quality improvement initiative on pain management in long-term care facilities as a research nurse for Brown University.
• Participated in developing a certification exam in pain management for the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
• Serves on the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Task Force to improve end of life care.
• Co-authored several papers on pain management and palliative care.
• Helped develop a new Advance Directive form for the state of Rhode Island.
• Participates in Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island’s weekly Long Term Care Interdisciplinary Team Meetings to offer guidance on Palliative Care and Pain Management.

Ms. Rochon holds an MSN degree from the University of Rhode Island, an MA in Pastoral Counseling from Emmanuel College, a BSN from Salve Regina University and is a graduate of the Newport Hospital School of Nursing. Terry holds several professional licenses and certifications. Among them: Family Nurse Practitioner Certification (FNP-C), Advance Practice

Palliative Care Management Certification from the National Board for Certification of Hospice and Palliative Nurses, Pain Management Nurse Certification from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and an RN license valid in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Terry is a member of several professional associations including Sigma Theta Tau, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, the Hospice and Palliative Care Nurses Association, and the American Nurses Association, the RI State Nurses Association and the Nurse Practitioner Chapter.

As a nurse practitioner, Terry Rochon is a role model for the nursing profession. She was awarded the Rhode Island State Nurses Association Nurse Leadership Award in 2001 and the Sigma Theta Tau Community Leader Award in 1998.

Ms. Rochon is a resident of Warwick.