Honoring The Legacy During Women’s History Month
- njHealth Team
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
The Role of Women in Hospice Care:
Women’s History Month offers an important opportunity to recognize the profound impact women have had on shaping hospice care. From its origins to today’s frontline caregiving workforce, women remain the foundation of the hospice movement.
Women have historically taken on caregiving roles, a tradition that continued into the modern hospice model pioneered by Dame Cicely Saunders, whose work transformed end‑of‑life care into a holistic, dignity‑centered practice. Today,
women continue to carry forward this legacy—not only through compassionate bedside care but also through leadership, advocacy, and innovation across hospice organizations.
The hospice workforce in the United States is overwhelmingly supported by women, especially in nursing and in‑home caregiving roles:
Nearly 90% of hospice registered nurses are women. Specifically, 89.8% of hospice RNs are female, reflecting the strong presence of women in direct clinical care.
In related home‑based care roles, which frequently overlap with hospice settings, women make up 87% of home health aides and 80% of personal care aides, illustrating women’s dominant role in hands‑on end‑of‑life support.
The broader palliative care clinician workforce is also predominantly female, according to research surveying hospice and palliative care practitioners.
The numbers underscore the essential contributions women make at nearly every level of hospice care—clinical, emotional, social, and administrative.
“These contributions matter and make a profound difference on the care dynamic,” said njHealth Hospice and Palliative Care founder, CEO and Administrator Suzanne Martinelli. “Women play a critical role in shaping the patient experience. I see it with our own team whose collaborate efforts support the patients’ emotional wellbeing, facilitates communication between families and care teams, and ensures that care remains centered on dignity and comfort.”
Women in leadership roles, like Martinelli who has had a career in hospice for more than two decades, also influence hospice policy, expand community programming, and strengthen systems that support vulnerable populations at the end of life.
During Women’s History Month, we are reminded that hospice care depends on women not only as caregivers but as change‑makers whose contributions continue to advance the field. Their legacy—rooted in empathy, advocacy, and service—remains central to the mission of providing compassionate end‑of‑life care for all. We are most proud of the women on the njHealth Team who make a difference each day in the lives of our patients and their families.