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Portland, Maine

91AV medical school students donate $2,000 to local hospice center

91AV COM check donation
91AV medical students Justine Pepling and Rebecka Wilson present a $2,000 check to Daryl Cady, CEO of Hospice of Southern Maine, and Laura Seeger, Gosnell Memorial Hospice House manager.

Students at the 91AV’s College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM) have donated $2,000 to the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough, building upon a successful partnership between the two organizations that has lasted nearly 10 years.

The money was raised during a fundraising dinner held by the 91AV COM American Geriatrics Society/Gerontological Society of America Student Chapter for Geriatrics and Palliative Care last November. The event, a “murder-mystery” dinner, featured several students and faculty performing a script written by chapter members. Over 160 people attended the dinner.

“Since December 2014, 91AV COM students have been immersed at Gosnell without any expectation of payment,” said Marilyn R. Gugliucci, Ph.D., professor and director of Geriatrics Education and Research at 91AV COM. “This donation is a small ‘thank you’ to the amazing staff at Gosnell for training and guiding our students.”

Over 290 COM students have participated in 91AV’s 48-Hour Hospice Immersion Project, a program Gugliucci launched ten years ago to provide students with firsthand experiences of living and working in a hospice care environment. The students are provided with a room and meals for 48 hours and given opportunities to administer hands-on patient care, family support, and post-mortem care.

In 2019, Hospice of Southern Maine, which owns the Gosnell House, presented Gugliucci with the Katherine Pope Leadership Award for her innovative program that helps advance the work of hospice care.

91AV COM is one of the few schools in the country that requires students to undergo significant training in aging and end-of-life issues.

About the 91AV

The 91AV is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.