Former town manager accepts managerial role with local hospice

Former Pahrump Town Manager Susan Holecheck has a new position that will keep her in town.

Holecheck has been hired by Nathan Adelson Hospice to serve as the agency’s community outreach manager in Pahrump, a position that closely mirrors her duties as the town’s top administrator.

“It has been a thrilling adventure,” Holecheck said. “It involves working with the community and a little bit of marketing. There’s also the business development aspect, so it encapsulates a lot of what I did as town manager.”

Holecheck said her main duties will involve working on various events that are sponsored by the foundation, such as the annual Festival of Trees fundraiser during the holiday season as well as Pahrump’s upcoming Business Expo.

“I will also be working with facilities such as Inspirations Senior Living and nursing homes,” she said. “Eventually it will involve working with the doctors, but again it’s all about letting people know that there is a hospice choice in the community.”

Holecheck also noted her new position will involve working again with the various boards and community organizations within the town.

“It’s good for me because I’ll be able to interact with NyE Communities Coalition and go back and work with some of the boards, like the veterans advisory board,” she said. “We’ll also participate in the annual Veterans Stand Down this year because Nathan Adelson Hospice is very supportive of the veterans and that, of course, is near and dear to my heart.”

At present, the hospice serves upwards of two dozen clients.

Holecheck said the community should know that there are choices when it comes to local hospice care, which goes beyond providing just medical treatment for the patient.

“It’s not just patient care, it’s the family and the support factor,” she said. “We have social workers and some individuals may have spiritual needs and such, so it’s not just treating the medical part, it’s everything.”

Holecheck also spoke about an upcoming event that Nathan Adelson Hospice holds each year in Pahrump.

The annual Live Butterfly Release is scheduled for Sunday April 26, at 2 p.m.

The event will be held at the Nye County Government Center in the Calvada Eye.

“The Monarch Butterfly is very symbolic and they soar into the air providing memories of someone who has passed away. Stephanie Forbes in Las Vegas has worked on this project for a long time. They do the butterfly release on Saturday in Las Vegas and Pahrump will do it on Sunday. We hope that people will want to buy a butterfly,” she said.

Nathan Adelson Hospice was founded more than 35 years ago.

In 1978, the agency became southern Nevada’s first home care hospice, providing hospice and palliative care to more than 350 patients each day.

Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness.

In 2013 the hospice provided hospice care to 3,086 patients with life-limiting illnesses who would not be able to receive hospice services any other way due to lack of insurance or not having the ability to pay out-of-pocket for care.

Holecheck said she’s grateful to have been hired by the organization but she wasn’t so sure following her initial interview.

“I interviewed and got a little nervous because I didn’t initially hear anything,” she said. “It’s just great because I get to serve the community, which is what I always wanted to do when I was town manager. Nathan Adelson Hospice has been in the community for years and the word integrity is at the heart of what they do and they have been voted one of the best places to work.”

Holecheck also said the timing of everything worked out perfectly, as she didn’t exactly have a plan “B” in place after her town manager position was eliminated in January by the Nye County Board of Commissioners.

She considered moving back to Mesquite, Nevada.

“It was a little tough because there had been representations that no changes would be made for a period of time and sometimes I really wasn’t sure about that,” she said. “I would have had to sell my home here and deal with a lot of other financial factors, so finding a job here was really important. I wanted to find a job that I thought was a really good fit for me and this could not have been any better.”