CaringInfo is a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) that provides free information and resources to help you learn and make decisions about care when you or your loved one is coping with serious illness.
Topics addressed by CaringInfo include advance care planning, caregiving, cost of care, emergency planning, differences in care types like hospice and palliative care, patients’ rights, and grief and loss.
Originally launched in 2004 as Caring Connections, NHPCO’s consumer engagement initiative provides free resources and information, including millions of state-specific, advance directives, to help people share their informed care decisions with family, friends, and physicians.
CaringInfo is supported by NHPCO and generous contributions to the National Hospice Foundation (NHF), NHPCO’s philanthropic affiliate. Visit NHF’s website to donate today and support CaringInfo.
About NHPCO
As the leading organization representing hospice and palliative care providers, NHPCO works to expand access to a proven person-centered model for healthcare—one that provides patients and their loved ones with comfort, peace, and dignity during life’s most intimate and vulnerable experiences.
About Sharon Stevenson, CaringInfo’s Project Lead
Sharon Stevenson, DVM PhD MBA has been working with the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) since 2020 and has led the redevelopment and launch of the new CaringInfo website.
Sharon is a Board-Certified Patient Advocate with a particular interest in serious illness and end of life care. She is also a Managing Director of Okapi Venture Capital, which she co-founded in 2005, and is responsible for the firm’s life sciences investments. She continues actively to manage the Okapi funds she participates in and to support the portfolio companies in her roles as Director, Observer, and/or investor.
Before founding Okapi, Sharon was Senior Vice President of Technology and Planning for SkinMedica, a dermatology company . Earlier, she was a Principal with Domain Associates, serving at the same time as President and CFO of Volcano Therapeutics, a company whose growth she led from product design through clinical trials. Prior to Domain Associates, she was Executive Director of the Advanced Tissue Sciences/ Smith+Nephew NeoCyte joint venture, during which time she led a multidisciplinary team.
Prior to moving to the private sector, Sharon was a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Orthopedics at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. She is the author of more than 130 publications. Her clinical training was in veterinary surgery, and she is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS). She has served on the governing boards of the ACVS and the Orthopedic Research Society and is a member of the Board of Governors of the Pardee RAND Graduate School of Public Policy. Sharon has received a Certificate in Patient Advocacy from UCLA Extension, an MBA from the UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management, a PhD in Comparative Pathology from UC Davis, and a Master of Science in Veterinary Pathology and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from The Ohio State University.
Sharon’s broad education and experience in science, medicine, healthcare systems, companies in the health care sector, finance, patient advocacy and personal caregiving experience combine to give her deep insights into the issues facing patients and their inner circles. She is dedicated to sharing her knowledge and empowering others.
