Monica Escalante, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Communications Officer of Montgomery Hospice, will be recognized by the Washington Business Journal with the 2019 Minority Business Leader Award. This award celebrates Greater Washington’s top 25 influential minority business leaders for their entrepreneurial drive and creativity. During her 17 year tenure, Monica instituted the Montgomery Hospice Center for Learning. The Center has been offering online and face-to-face classes for a decade. Currently, 180 professionals are taking classes in pursuit of Montgomery Hospice’s Certificate in End-of-Life Care. The curriculum offers courses that recognize cultural, racial, religious and ethnic backgrounds as the basis to understanding and appreciating patients’ diversity, which is essential to providing quality care. Monica also has been instrumental in the inclusion of holistic complementary therapies -such as aromatherapy, gentle massage, music and pet therapy among others- into hospice patients’ care plans. These therapies have proven to reduce the need for pain medication and elevate the comfort level of our patients. Monica emphasizes, “Working at Montgomery Hospice has been and continues to be a blessing for me. I have been fortunate to learn the hospice philosophy from women who advocated for the Medicare benefit since its inception. My supervisors and mentors instilled in me the footprint of good end of life care. I feel it is my duty to pass this knowledge on to other generations.” At this event, a strong group of exceptional individuals who have exhibited outstanding performance both professionally and in their community will be celebrated. Montgomery Hospice is very proud of Monica Escalante, who not only embodies the values of the organization but whose drive, creativity and distinguished performance have given her this well-deserved nomination and award. Montgomery Hospice is an independent non-profit organization whose mission is “to gentle the journey through serious illness and loss with skill and compassion”. In 2018, the organization served more than 2,200 Montgomery County patients and their families. Learn more about the WBJ Minority Business Leader Awards.