Sitting across the table from Clemson School of Nursing professor Tracy Fasolino, her gray sweatshirt has an embroidered statement saying, "Patient care is my passion." That statement becomes evident as she talks about her work in palliative care.

In March, Fasolino was inducted into the Hospice and Palliative Nursing Association (HPNA) as a Fellow. This fellowship recognizes leadership and a visionary spirit and is reserved for HPNA members who have made significant contributions to the Association while impacting the hospice and palliative nursing field. HPNA Fellows are nurses who have promoted and advanced both the specialty of hospice and palliative nursing and the mission of HPNA. This year, she was one of 10 professionals chosen as a Fellow of the Association.

"This is a lifetime achievement, and I am honored that I have been selected among my peers for this recognition," said Fasolino.

A member of the Association since 2012, she has contributed to her field through mentorship, advocacy, research and education for non-hospice palliative care. She has created educational resources for patients and nurses and currently serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care as well as the Association's board of directors.

Fasolino also serves as the South Carolina State Ambassador for the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association, allowing her to partner with state and national representatives. She is building partnerships with leaders in South Carolina to serve on workgroups and committees for awareness of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) needs in rural communities.

Through her graduate certification in policy studies from Clemson University, she has learned about engaging and sustaining changes in health care policy. Her goal is to change perceptions of palliative care and empower patients to take back control of their lives and fulfill their bucket lists.

She remembers a former patient who was in his 70s and had a chronic lung disease with no curative option. This patient had discussed with Fasolino what he wanted his end-of-life care to look like at home. However, he was admitted to the hospital right before Thanksgiving and was unable to transfer back home.

So, he texted Fasolino to help him. With his family and his pastor, the medical team, under the direction of palliative care led by Fasolino, initiated end-of-life protocols to alleviate suffering and provide a peaceful death. He sang hymns and serenaded his wife with Broadway musicals they loved.

"You could hear him halfway down the hall," Fasolino said with tears in her eyes. "We talk about people having a good death. This was a good death, and solidified why I do what I do for my patients daily."

Fasolino's goal with her patients in palliative care is to help them gain control of their life through symptom management while helping to establish goals of care that would include end-of-life. She wants them to experience quality of life and empower them to speak their wishes about their health after well-informed conversations.

"I can see it on their faces when I tell them they are in control of their lives," Fasolino said. "I can see how liberating it is for them to hear that their wishes matter and we want to provide person-centered care."

The Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation funded her most recent grant for changing health care culture around palliative care and end-of-life discussions to examine beliefs about faith and advance directives. It can be challenging for health care providers, patients and caregivers - but Fasolino believes these conversations are vital in aligning care with patients' wishes.

Fasolino is working on this project to help health care teams recognize the essential role of spiritual leaders in serious illness conversations in rural African American and Black communities. Project SUNDAYs explores how religion and spirituality shape conversations about severe illnesses and end-of-life from the perspective of rural African American and Black faith leaders in local church assemblies. She said the project will explore a new model for developing care conversations with seriously ill African American and Black adults in South Carolina by first understanding the role of spirituality and religion in advance care planning and end-of-life wishes.

Previously, Fasolino was one of 10 palliative care leaders nationwide for the Cambia Health FoundationSojourns Scholar Leadership Program in 2021. Her Cambia project focused on the inequality of access to palliative care in rural Appalachia, specifically gaps in service for patients with COPD and their caregivers.

Her vision of non-hospice palliative care is for every patient and caregiver to have access to skilled providers trained in symptom management and goals of care discussions. Fasolino's project addresses two barriers: the current palliative care workforce has not grown at the rate needed to close this health care gap and lack of telehealth options, as some patients in highly rural areas do not have access to the internet.

By educating those trusted providers in Appalachia about palliative care, Fasolino intends to close the gap and increase care access for COPD patients and their families.

"We, at the School of Nursing, are immensely proud of Dr. Fasolino for her work in palliative care and for receiving this recognition. Palliative care is specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness. This type of care is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of the illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family." said John Whitcomb, Chief Academic Nursing Officer and Director of the School of Nursing. "Her work is helping us meet the land grant mission of the University and meet the needs of patients across South Carolina."

The School of Nursing is part of the University's College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences (CBSHS). Established in July 2016, CBSHS is a 21st-century, land-grant college that combines work in seven disciplines - communication; nursing; parks, recreation and tourism management; political science; psychology; public health sciences; sociology, anthropology and criminal justice - to further its mission of "building people and communities" in South Carolina and beyond.