Denver Hospice Honors Peter Van Arsdale

The Denver Hospice plans to recognize Peter Van Arsdale for his work as its co-founder and for his efforts to raise funds for its partner hospice in Arusha, Tanzania.

Van Arsdale is director of DU’s African Initiatives project and an adjunct professor in the Josef Korbel School of International Studies. African Initiatives connects faculty and students to organizations conducting research and community outreach to support Africa’s growth and development.

In the late 1970s, Van Arsdale became a co-leader for The Denver Hospice and helped it become one of the first nonprofits to provide hospice care in the Rocky Mountain region. The organization serves individuals facing an advanced illness.

“To us, The Denver Hospice has always been about the way providers should work with patients at the end of life and with their families — respecting their autonomy and dignity,” Van Arsdale says. “These are sister terms, so critical in human rights. They don’t magically occur because someone enters hospice.”

Van Arsdale served as a board member during the organization’s first decade and subsequently as a consultant and dedicated contributor. He continues to serve as an advisor to the Selian Initiative, a partnership The Denver Hospice has with a hospice in East Africa where it provides moral, educational and financial support.

“I am so pleased with what The Denver Hospice has become. I’m really impressed how the original mission of the hospice has been continued. It’s been modified, tweaked, enhanced — an adaptive and pragmatic organization — and it is continuing to evolve,” he says,

The Denver Hospice will honor Van Arsdale during “A Night of ‘Kujali,’” which is Swahili for caring. The event is scheduled for Sept. 7 at the Wellshire Inn.