LENOIR, NC (October 31, 2018) — Freda Clark Cowan of Lenoir, a nurse practitioner with Caldwell Hospice and Palliative Care, recently received her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Winston-Salem State University. The DNP program prepares nurses to become clinical leaders in healthcare and academic settings and to implement evidence-based healthcare practice.
Cowan, who has practiced nursing for more than 25 years, also holds a bachelor’s degree from Western Carolina University and a master’s from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. A native of Lenoir, she has been working at Caldwell Hospice since 2017. She has previous experience as a nurse practitioner with Wake Forest University Health Sciences and did palliative care at Hospice and Palliative CareCenter of Winston-Salem.
Cowan’s area of expertise at Caldwell Hospice is palliative care, a medical specialty that focuses on optimizing quality of life and minimizing symptoms for those with serious, chronic illnesses such as heart disease, chronic pulmonary lung disease and other debilitating sickness. Her final project for the advanced degree was entitled, “Perceived Health Related Quality of Life in Heart Failure Patients Waiting for Advanced Medical Therapies.”
Unlike hospice care, palliative care services are available to people who are not terminally ill but are facing a serious illness that interferes with their ability to cope with and enjoy daily life. Palliative medicine is appropriate for anyone, at any age, at any point in the illness, including those seeking curative treatment, and is often used along with other treatments and therapies to help patients manage difficulties that come with chronic illness. Palliative care services are provided in patients’ homes, in long-term-care facilities, or in hospitals.
To learn more about palliative care services at Caldwell Hospice call 828.754.0101, visit www.caldwellhospice.org, or follow them on Facebook. Caldwell Hospice and Palliative Care is a community-based, not-for-profit hospice and palliative care provider licensed by the State of NC, certified by Medicare, and accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Health Care.