Barbara Karnes

Barbara Karnes, RN, is an internationally respected speaker, educator, author and thought leader on matters of end of life. She is a renowned authority to explain the dying process to families, healthcare professionals and the community at large.

Barbara has held both clinical and leadership positions, including staff nurse, clinical supervisor and executive director at Hospice Care of Mid America in Kansas City, Missouri, as well as Olathe Medical Center Hospice and Home Health in Olathe, Kansas. An award-winning nurse and end of life educator, Barbara received THE HEART OF HEALTH CARE AWARD from Kansas University Nursing, THE HORIZON AWARD for Education from Nebraska Methodist College and THE INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN WOMAN OF THE YEAR 2015 form the World Humanitarian Awards.

Since 1994, Barbara has traveled the country speaking about end of life issues and the dynamics of dying at national and state hospice and palliative care organization conferences, state associations, colleges, nursing schools, hospitals, and hospices. She is the expert that hospice and other healthcare professionals count on to teach them how to explain the dying process to families.

Barbara Karnes writes the popular blog, "Something to Think About: a blog on end of life," and maintains an active presence in social media with online communities on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter.

Barbara has dedicated the last 35 years of her life to the education, care, and comforting of dying people and their loved ones. The most useful things she's learned along the way have been distilled into her materials.