The College of New Rochelle to Become First College In Westchester
to Offer Post-Master’s Certificate in Palliative Care
Set for January Launch, Advanced Courses Will Equip Nurses
With Specialized Caring Skills for Terminally Ill Patients

New Rochelle, NY, July 20, 2005 -- The College of New Rochelle (CNR) School of Nursing announced today that it will offer a Post-Master’s Certificate in Palliative Care beginning in January, 2006. In so doing, CNR will become the first college in Westchester—and only the 15th in the nation—to offer the Certificate in Palliative Care that provides nurses with in-depth skills that are required to properly care for terminally ill patients.
    
The new course of study, recently approved by the New York State Department of Education, is designed to meet the growing need for providing chronic health care services to patients in hospices, homes and hospital settings. “People are living longer, and as a result, there is a rapidly growing need for chronic health care services,” said Dr. Donna Demarest, Dean of CNR’s School of Nursing. “Hospitals and other healthcare providers are looking to hire nurses who specialize in palliative care, and the demand is expected to increase dramatically.  We are offering this new educational track with the goal of helping to meet this need.”

Dr. Demarest explained that the courses will provide students with both traditional classroom learning and training in real-life settings. The introductory course, for example, will give students a holistic overview of patients and families—their diverse needs and expectations regarding the body, mind, and spirit.  As part of their training each student in the program will then work with patients in hospice programs to learn the dimensions of suffering, loss, grief and bereavement and to develop relationships with individual patients.

Students will examine “best practice” models of palliative care. The program will also analyze the legal and moral/ethical issues related to palliative care and the kinds of decisions that must be made at the end of life.

To be eligible for enrollment in the new Palliative Care certificate program, students must already hold a master’s degree in nursing. Palliative Care certification will require 18 course credit hours and 550 hours of practical work. As is the case with CNR’s master’s degree programs, the size of the Palliative Care Certificate classes will be small. Limiting class sizes to approximately 10 students enables quality instruction and close interaction with faculty members.

The Palliative Care Certificate fits very well with CNR’s existing holistic and caring/healing philosophy, a tradition at the School of Nursing.  The first in the nation to offer a master’s program in holistic nursing, the CNR School of Nursing recently announced that it will offer a new Nurse Educator master’s program starting with the fall semester 2005.  In addition, CNR plans to construct a $25 million, 60,000-square-foot holistic Wellness Center. When it opens in 2007, the Wellness Center—unique in the New York metropolitan area—will bring together and integrate multiple disciplines to help students understand and practice the principles of healthy living and wellness throughout their lives.

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The first Catholic college for women in New York State, The College of New Rochelle was founded in 1904 by the Ursuline Order. Today, it comprises the all-women School of Arts & Sciences, and three schools which admit women and men: the School of New Resources (for adult learners), the School of Nursing and the Graduate School.  The main campus of the College is located in lower Westchester County, 16 miles north of New York City.  The College maintains six other campus locations in New York City. Visit the College’s website at www.cnr.edu