About Me

Tani Bahti

Tani Bahti, RN, CT, CHPN

Passionate about end of life issues, I’ve spent most of my almost 44 years in nursing focused on improving end of life care. Witnessing too often how fear, misinformation, and lack of information can negatively impact decision-making and the dying experience, I have been committed to improving care through education. This is personal as well as professional.  I have not only experienced the dying of beloved patients, I have been the daughter, granddaughter, niece, friend, peer of those who have faced end of life challenges, whether the end of a chronic illness or a suicide. Each experience has revealed the variety of questions, fears, needs and distress that need to be better addressed so that we can help people better talk about and prepare for the end of life in a way that honors their own beliefs, traditions and desires.

Listening to the concerns and fears of my audiences as hospice community educator, I produced the award-winning video, “Living Through Dying – The Struggle for Grace.” Seeing that both the healthcare providers and the general community needed a simple way to talk about and understand the dying process, I produced the Straight Talk Series on End of Life Care which includes my book, Dying to Know – Straight Talk about Death & Dying.

As a frequent speaker locally and nationally to both professional and lay groups, I have also developed clinical training programs for medical and nursing students and hospice volunteers. As the founder and executive director of Passages – Support & Education in End of Life Issues, I fulfilled my goal of providing compassionate guidance in end of life issues through support, education & research to my community from 2009 until 2015. I am now expanding my work to reach more audiences nationally and internationally through workshops and consultation.

Publications

“Winter Into Spring: A New Look at Breast Cancer”, The Compendium, March 1989

Co-Authored “Journey’s End,” a booklet on dying published through Carondelet Health Network

Book – Dying to Know: Straight Talk About Death & Dying, 2006

“From Fear to Understanding – Demystifying the Dying Process,” The ADEC Forum, Vol 36, Issue 1, Jan 2010

“The Missing Piece in End of Life Decision-making,” National Association of Elder Law Attorneys – NAELA Healthcare Section Newsletter, Winter 2009 and Spring 2010. Repeated Spring 2012 and Winter 2013

“From Fear to Understanding – Demystifying the Dying Process,” The Advocate, Funerals Consumer Alliance of Piedmont, Feb 2010

“Coping Issues Among People Living With Advanced Cancer,” Seminars in Oncology Nursing, Vol 26, No. 3, August 2010

“On Death & Dying,” Difficult Conversations: Nurses Share Lessons From Cancer’s Frontline, CURE Media Group, Dallas Texas, 2011

Media Productions

Living Through Dying – The Struggle for Grace, 2004

Facing the Fears – Straight Talk to Families about the Dying Process, 2006

Facing Your Fears – Straight Talk about the Dying Process, 2006

Workshop Organizations

(Only a sample list of the over 1500 presentations locally and nationally)

Oncology Nurses Society
International Work Group on Death, Dying & Bereavement
Association for Death Education & Counseling Conference
National Education Association
National Council on Aging/American Society on Aging annual conferences
Western Council of Governments
Salem Health
Nebraska Oncology
Springfield Medical Center
Copper Queen Hospital
R Hayden Smith Funeral Home, VA
Arizona Clinical Oncology Society
Tennessee Oncology Practice Society
Life Beyond Cancer
ESCAPE (Encouraging and Sustaining Cancer Advocacy Programs and Efforts – Cancer Advocacy Leadership Conference)
Alzheimers Association
Caregiver Consortium
University of Arizona College of Nursing
University of Arizona College of Medicine
University Medical Center

and many more…

Honors

› (Click here to see a list of Honors)
• Sages in Clinical Practice Individual Award, Center for Nursing Excellence, UnitedHealth Group, 2013
• University of Arizona College of Nursing 50th Anniversary Homecoming featured speaker, Fall 2009
• The Communicator Awards. Award of Distinction in the category of medical education for the video “Living Through Dying: The Struggle for Grace” 2004
• Honoree representing Carondelet Health Network for “The Promise of Nursing for Arizona” Celebration, Phoenix, April 2004
• Honoree representing Carondelet Health Network for “The Promise of Nursing for Arizona” Celebration, Phoenix, April 2004
• Recipient of Fabulous Fifty Award in Nursing, Tucson, May 2000
• Speaker, Geraldine Newel Lectureship on Scholastic & Clinical Education, University of Arizona College of Nursing 40th Anniversary, March 1998
• Angel Award Nominee, St. Mary’s Hospital, 1997
• Employee of the Month, St. Mary’s Hospital, July 1988
• Recipient for “Excellence in Nursing – Administrative Leadership” AHA Award, St. Mary’s Hospital, 1987
• Nominee for “Excellence in Nursing – Education” AHA Award, ST. Mary’s Hospital, 1986
• Member of Sigma Theta Tau, National Honor Society for Nurses, 1976
• Nominee for Robie Medal Award for Scholastic & Community Achievement, University Of Arizona College of Nursing, 1975

Career Experience

› (Click here to see past employment history)
Passages – Support & Education in End of Life Issues
Founder & Executive Director, Jan 2009 to March 2014

Pathways – Education and Consultation in End of Life Care, Tucson
Director, June 2006 to present

UnitedHealth
Advanced Illness Care Manager, July 2011 to Nov 2014

Dependable Home Health
Homecare case manager/admissions, Spring –Dec 2010

Tucson Medical Center Hospice
Admissions nurse, Nov 2006 – April 2010

Casa de La Luz Hospice, Tucson
Community Education Coordinator, March 2005-April 2006

Carondelet Health Network, Tucson
Hospice Outreach Coordinator for Education & Program Development, 1993 – 2005
Hospice Volunteer Coordinator, 1999 – 2001
Hospice Homecare and Admissions Nurse, 1989 – 1993
Breast Cancer Program Coordinator, 1989
Facilitator/trainer for the Traditional Indian Medicine Program, 1986 – 1990
Hematology-Oncology Clinic Nurse, 1983 – 1989

University Medical Center
Home Health Nurse, 1989 – 1990
Research Nurse in ER, 1983
Staff & Special Projects Nurse, 1982
Head Nurse, Medical/Oncology Unit, 1979 – 1981
Assistance Head Nurse, Urological/Ortho Unit, 1978 – 1979
Staff Nurse, Medical/Oncology Unit, 1976 – 1978
Nurse’s Assistant, 1975 – 1976

Other
Clinical Lab Instructor, University of Arizona
College of Medicine 1985
Clinical nursing Instructor, Pima Community College 1981 – 1983
Adjunct faculty, U of A College of Medicine 2012 to present