Celebrating EOLONM Volunteers

By Christina Gardiner

Patsy’s father was an MD/General Practitioner in the small-town where she grew up in Kansas. She always had a deep appreciation for his work — an influence that would shape her path into healthcare and her belief in the importance of end of life care. Patsy earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from the University of Kansas, followed by a Master’s Degree in Business Management.

Patsy and her husband, a pediatrician, came to New Mexico in 1976, where she helped him establish his pediatric practice. She then worked as a school nurse in the public school system and directed the school-based health center program for the University of New Mexico (UNM). She went on to the New Mexico Department of Health (DOH) in Santa Fe as the School Health Director for a Center for Disease Control (CDC) funded statewide school health program. She later serve as the Deputy Director of the Public Health Division to its Director, Barak Wolff. Their professional relationship blossomed into a friendship, and it was Barak who first told Patsy that New Mexico was considering an end-of-life options law. During the same period, Patsy worked with Revathi A-Davidson at Presbyterian Hospital where they became good friends. Revathi would later become one of the founders of End of Life Options New Mexico (EOLONM).

Following Patsy’s retirement in 2007, she channeled her energy first into consulting and then into advocating for the end of life options legislation — and ultimately saw it pass. She chose to focus on public outreach and education when she joined End of Life Options New Mexico, driven by a firm belief in the importance of informing people about at-home care, hospice, and the full range of support available to them. Her commitment to this work is also deeply personal: she brings to it the weight of her own grief, having lost her daughter six years ago.

We are so grateful for Patsy’s presence – her wisdom and kindness and her ever present belief in this work.