MANDEL CENTER FOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
DAVID SIMPSON
2006 Recipient of the Leadership in Nonprofit Management Award
Founded in 1978, David Simpson joined Hospice of the Western Reserve as the Executive Director in 1985. With a census of 18 patients and an annual budget of $392,000, the organization now has a daily census of 1,200 patients and serves more than 6,000 patients annually with a current budget of $70 million. The organization is comprised of 1,700 paid and volunteer staff. Hospice of the Western Reserve is a community-based, nonprofit agency providing comfort care and emotional support to patients and their families, regardless of age, disease, or ability to pay. Care is provided wherever the patient lives - in the home, hospital, assisted living/long-term care facility, or at Hospice House, a 42-bed residential facility overlooking Lake Erie.
Hospice of the Western Reserve has a dedicated Pediatric Team, an AIDS Team, a specialized Cardiopulmonary Program, Project Safe Conduct, a joint program with the Ireland Cancer Center, an innovative Liaison Team specialized for patients in hospitals, and a joint transition project with a large homecare agency. Hospice of the Western Reserve also operates The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Bereavement Center and The Hospice Institute focusing on education and research. It has recently developed a community-based palliative care consultation service. Hospice of the Western Reserve serves five counties, with nine community sites and a hospice resale shop.
David has been active in promoting quality end-of-life care by serving on the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's (NHPCO) Board of which he was a member from 1994 - 2000. He served as Board Chairman for two terms. David also served on the Ohio Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's Board and was president for two years. He has given numerous presentations on hospice and palliative care locally and nationally, as well as in Canada and Hong Kong. David has served as NHPCO's United States Representative to the Canadian Palliative Care Association, and also is a charter member of the Center to Advance Palliative Care's National Advisory Committee.
Prior to his end-of-life care endeavors, David worked in the alcoholism/chemical dependency field for 12 years. Seven of those years were with a funding organization, and the last five years, David was Director of an in-patient Adolescent Chemical Dependency Program.
David graduated from Ottawa University in Canada in 1966 and earned his master's degree from Kent State in 1971. He is a Licensed Social Worker. David is married, with one daughter, one stepdaughter, two stepsons and two grandchildren. He enjoys golf, skiing, hiking and is fluent in French.