BROOKINGS – Richard P. Holm, M.D., author of “Life’s Final Season, A Guide for Aging and Dying with Grace” and host of “On Call with the Prairie Doc,” a state-wide weekly call-in show on South Dakota Public Broadcasting, is among the faculty selected to present at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization Interdisciplinary Conference Nov. 4-6,  in Orlando, Florida.

Holm’s session, “How the Fear of Death Can Be Dangerous To Your Health,” will be offered on day one of the NHPCO IDC as part of the Community-Based Palliative Care tract. “Ultimately, my goal is to convey how we as health care providers might face our own fear of death and in doing so, help our patients and their families better communicate their wishes and reduce suffering,” said Holm.

Holm, currently living with cancer, will review the strengths and inadequacies of advance directives and other end-of-life documents. He will demonstrate how these plans become more effective when open communication is encouraged amongst patients, their families and their care providers. In addition, his session will provide strategies for how best to accomplish the transition from curative treatments to palliative care.

Attendees at the conference will include professionals from across the country in the hospice and palliative care field and related stakeholders in the following disciplines and roles: advanced nurse practitioner, bereavement, nurse, palliative care, pediatrics, physician, quality, regulatory and compliance, social work and spiritual care.

A native of De Smet, Holm earned his B.S. in medicine in 1973 from the University of South Dakota School of Medicine and his M.D. from Emory University School of Medicine in 1975. Holm taught at Emory for three years and practiced medicine in Brookings for 38 years. He served as president of the South Dakota State Medical Association, governor of the South Dakota Chapter of the American College of Physicians and was awarded a Master of the American College of Physicians.

He was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame and cited as “South Dakota’s Voice of Healthcare” in 2017. 

His television show is in its 18th season and his musings on health, Prairie Doc Perspectives, are currently published as weekly columns in more than 100 newspapers in South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska and Kansas.

Holm’s book, “Life’s Final Season: A Guide for Aging and Dying with Grace” is currently available from Amazon.com. Holm participates as a Goodreads Author and ongoing updates about his work can be found on The Prairie Doc® Facebook page and website.