For Immediate Release: January 6, 2022
Contact: Amy Tucci, atucci@hospicefoundation.org

Former U.S. Congressman Elected to Serve on Hospice Foundation of America Board
 
Washington, DC – Hospice Foundation of America (HFA) announced today that former U.S. Congressman Kendrick B. Meek has been elected by HFA’s directors and officers to serve on its Board of Directors. 

“It’s a great honor to have Kendrick Meek on our governing team. With his distinguished background of service, Kendrick brings deep expertise to our board, and he will help steer HFA’s future as we expand our work, particularly in the areas of philanthropy, research, and education,” said HFA Board Chairman Thomas J. Spulak.

Mr. Meek, 55, is a senior advisor with King & Spalding to a diverse group of companies in the health care, homeland security, agriculture, and financial services sectors. Mr. Meek works with U.S. corporations to develop and strengthen their corporate social responsibility initiatives.

From 2002 to 2010, Mr. Meek represented the 17th Congressional District of Florida, serving on the U.S. House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee. While in Congress, he was appointed to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and served on both the House Armed Services and Homeland Security Committees. He was the youngest Member of Congress to serve as Chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and he was recently named Director Emeritus, one of only two former Members who has held this position. In 2011, President Obama appointed Mr. Meek as Special Representative to the United Nations. Prior to his election to Congress, Mr. Meek served in the Florida State Legislature and was a Florida Highway Patrol officer who rose to the rank of captain before entering politics.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of end-of-life care and grief counseling, and how essential they are,” Mr. Meek said. “I look forward to working with HFA to support hospices and professionals, with the goal of making quality end-of-life care and grief care accessible to all Americans.”

In addition to its core work around hospice care and grief, projects currently underway at HFA include four major initiatives: Project Talk Trial, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) research project with major universities to determine effective advance care planning tools in underserved populations; Autismandgrief.org, a website under development for adults with autism who are grieving, as well as their families and professionals; Caregiver: A Love Story, which will use an award-winning documentary to raise awareness of caregiver burden and develop hospice and community solutions in response; and the TAPS Institute for Hope and Healing^®, an educational resource for military loss survivors and the professionals who support them, in affiliation with the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS).

About HFA: Founded in 1982, HFA educates the public and healthcare professionals about death, dying, and grief. HFA brings together the nation’s leading experts to contribute to the content of HFA's award-winning books, web-based tutorials and programs, and videos. Hospice Foundation of America also funds research about hospice care and supports specific hospice and/or grief initiatives and research about end-of-life care. Hospice Foundation of America is funded by government and private grants, through the generosity of donors and sponsors, and from sales of its award-winning books, videos, and publications. Hospice Foundation of America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. 

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