Patty Hodder

My husband Robin died at home in 2006 from Corticobasal Ganglionic Degeneration. I cared for him for four years prior to his death. We were fortunate to have access to a number of Consultants who managed Robin’s symptoms as his condition deteriorated to ensure maximum comfort. During the last eighteen months of his life we were supported by an EACH package and for the final three weeks Cabrini Palliative Care staff visited.

I am a Registered Nurse with extensive experience in palliative care, spanning from 1981 until the present day. I am a member of the Board of South East Palliative Care in Melbourne and a Life Member of Palliative Care Victoria.

From 1990—1998 I worked in aged care as Director of Nursing at St. Josephs Tower, in Kew Victoria. In this role I pioneered the concept of transferring the principles of palliative care into the aged care environment, implementing policies on care of the dying person and pain and symptom management, which included education programs for all levels of staff. I subsequently developed the guidelines for the provision of palliative care to nursing home residents which were part of the original Victorian Nursing Home Standards. During this time I chaired a Liaison Committee to oversee the first palliative care nursing course at Latrobe University.

In the late 1980’s I co-edited a book [with Anne Turley] “The Creative Option of Palliative Care”, the first book to detail aspects of palliative care especially its multi-disciplinary nature. This book was translated into other languages and is still used as an introductory reference today.