Introducing Kathy Kortes-Miller

Dr. Kathy Kortes-Miller says researching dying and palliative care helps her live each day to the fullest. As a lecturer at Lakehead University for over 15 years, she has taught a variety of subjects including gerontology, social work, grief and loss.

In her work as the Palliative Care Division Lead at the Centre for Education and Research on Aging and Health at Lakehead University, Kathy works hard to ensure future healthcare providers will be better prepared to support those who are dying and their families. She received Ontario Research Councils Early Researcher award in 2012.

She uses her experiences as a palliative care social worker and a cancer survivor to ask hard questions and try to change the ways we talk and think about dying and death. Kathy is working with Pallium Canada (located in Ottawa) to mobilize Palliative Care as a public health issue, and adopt a Compassionate Communities paradigm.

Kathy has also been the author and co-author of numerous scholarly publications and is currently a research fellow with Technology Evaluation in the Elderly Network (TVN). She is studying how simulation impacts the palliative care education of healthcare providers in long term care.

In March 2015, Kathy and colleagues published results of their research:Dying with Carolyn: Using Simulation to Improve Communication Skills of Unregulated Care Providers Working in Long-Term Care in the Journal of Applied Gerontology.

Kathy brings her professional and personal experience to Hospice Northwest as the past Chair of the Board of Directors. She also facilities workshops on palliative care and promotes community engagement through Die-alogues.

Tweet with Kathy @Kathykm.

Dying to hear how Kathy is Breaking Barriers? Apply by February 29 to listen to all of our speakers on March 31.