Amy Elaine Moss, D.O., Named VITAS Long Term Care Team Physician.

Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers

FORT WORTH,Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 28, 2003

Amy Elaine Moss, D.O., has been named Long Term Care Team Physician for VITAS Innovative Hospice Care(R) of Fort Worth.

In this new full-time position, Dr. Moss will be responsible for working with VITAS' nursing home partners to ensure that quality end-of-life care is provided to nursing home residents and their families.

In an arrangement that recognizes her unique qualifications, Dr. Moss also is employed part-time by the University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) as an Assistant Professor for the Division of Geriatrics. In this role, she gives lectures on Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment in the areas of hospice/palliative care, wound care, pain management, ethics and dementia. In addition, Dr. Moss collaborates with UNTHSC's Division of Geriatrics in the development of its palliative care/hospice curriculum, and serves as a trainer for medical and physician assistant students, family practice and internal medicine residents, and medical, dental and neuropsychiatry fellows focusing on hospice/palliative care.

Dr. Moss is a frequent speaker on such topics as "Ethical Decision Making," "Advance Directive Decision Making," "A Medical Perspective on Healthy Aging" and "Strategic Planning for Long Term Care." Prior to joining VITAS, she served as the Medical Director for Garden Terrace Alzheimer's Center of Excellence for nearly three years in Fort Worth.

The 1999 recipient of the Alcon Laboratories Post Doctoral Scientific Achievement Award, Dr. Moss is a member of several professional societies, including the American Geriatric Society, the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, the American Osteopathic Association, the American Medical Directors Association, the American College of Osteopathic Internists, the Texas Medical Directors Association and the Texas Osteopathic Medical Association.

Dr. Moss earned her bachelor's degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, 1989. She graduated from UNTHSC's Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Worth, 1995. She completed her internal medicine residency at the Osteopathic Medical Center of Texas in 1998 and was board certified in 1999. Dr. Moss completed a two-year geriatric fellowship at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, 2000.

VITAS Healthcare Corporation is the nation's leading provider of hospice care, with programs operating in eight states including Texas, California, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. VITAS (pronounced Vee-taahs) Innovative Hospice Care(R) of Texas operates programs in Fort Worth, Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, and annually serves more than 7,200 patients statewide in hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and personal residences.