The world is filled with remarkable people – leaders and heroes whose values guide them to place the needs of others above their own, who strive for the betterment of others and who use their strengths to fight for those in need. Dr. Bernice Catherine Harper, MSW, MScPH, LLD was one of these people, and we were proud to call her a friend.
Dr. Harper died on July 5th at the age of 102. Her career of caring for people began at the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles after earning her MSW from the University of Southern California. While a social worker, she recognized the need to train social workers to better cope with the anxieties and professional grief that resulted from their demanding responsibilities. Harper would write several books sharing her experiences with death and overcoming the stresses of being a social worker. She dedicated her final book to health professionals, saying, "This final book is about us: health professionals, our families, our death and our dying…" Harper believed that in order to understand how to deal with death and dying, one must first recognize who they are in the healthcare field and their own feelings on death and dying.
Dr. Harper would go on to work as a medical care advisor in the United States Department of Health and Human Services for nearly 36 years. When she began working in the government, she wasted no time in integrating social work into numerous proposals. Of her many successes in government, Harper is best known for her advocacy for the integration of hospice care benefits into Medicare. Her recommendations included the incorporation of physicians' services and counseling into the Medicare package.
Despite her distinguished career in the United States, it was Dr. Harper's passion for missionary work in Africa that led to our relationship with her. In 1996, she received the opportunity to represent the US in the first professional seminar tour of hospices in South Africa and Zimbabwe – a defining moment in her life. Throughout her visit, Harper conducted workshops and presentations that integrated both her book and social work experience to share her expertise on death and dying.
Recognizing a need to support Africa's hospice and palliative care programs, Harper and her colleagues formed the Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa in 1999 with the goal to partner hospice and palliative care organizations in the US with those in Sub-Saharan Africa to foster knowledge exchange and resource mobilization. This organization eventually morphed into Global Partners in Care, now under the auspices of Center for Hospice Care and Hospice Foundation. Dr. Harper was not only a driving force who had a profound impact on the organization and the many lives we've touched – she was also a close friend, confidant and advisor who will be greatly missed and forever appreciated.
Our sadness upon hearing of Dr. Harper's passing is tempered by our overwhelming gratitude for her immeasurable contributions to palliative care throughout the world. We had the pleasure to work closely with Dr. Harper on a story about her life, published in 2022 on the eve of her 100th birthday. Click the link to learn more about her influence on palliative care globally.
