While many doctors enter the medical profession to save lives, Dr. Warren Wheeler finds gratitude in giving patients a peaceful, comfortable death. As a pioneer in the field of hospice and palliative care, Dr. Wheeler’s philosophy remains steadfast: caring for the dying is with the knowledge that we are caring for the living.
After medical school, Dr. Wheeler served in the Vietnam War before returning to finish his medical residency. Two years into his oncology practice, he experienced a moment that would forever change his career trajectory. The daughter of a cancer patient asked, “how can you let our mother suffer and endure pain like this?” It was then that Dr. Wheeler decided to pursue training for end-of-life treatment.
Dr. Wheeler is a trailblazer—fighting for better pain management systems for oncology and terminal patients, and advocating for legislation and education for hospice and palliative care on a national level. He has lectured nationally and published several original papers in medical journals on palliative care, hospice and cancer pain.
In his role with Nathan Adelson Hospice, Dr. Wheeler spearheaded an osteopathic fellowship in the hospice and palliative care medicine program— a first-of-its-kind fellowship program in Nevada and one of only 11 osteopathic fellowship programs in the nation. Dr. Wheeler and the NAH team promote the concept of palliative care with the hope of mandating that hospice and palliative care be taught in all the professional schools of pharmacy, nursing and medicine. He takes pride in helping medical students learn extensively about these fields and finds his biggest joy in mentoring them—planting seeds of care that will enable the hospice community for years to come and ensure no one ends their journey of life alone, afraid or in pain.
Lifetime Achievement Runner-up
Mary Bondmass, Ph.D., RN, CNE Associate Professor in Residence, UNLV School of Nursing