Stephanie Clark
Stephanie Clark is an experienced healthcare executive with over 12 years of dedicated service in the field of nursing and hospice care. She currently serves as Executive Director of Serenity Care Hospice, Inc., where she oversees full operational leadership of the organization while also contributing clinically as a registered nurse. Her dual perspective as both a nurse and executive allows her to bridge patient care and organizational management, ensuring compassionate, high-quality services for patients and families.
Her clinical career began as a Registered Nurse in a mental health hospital, where she spent approximately a year and a half gaining foundational experience in behavioral health care. She then transitioned into hospice care as a Registered Nurse Case Manager, eventually advancing through progressive leadership roles over an 11-year tenure with the same organization. Through consistent dedication and hands-on experience, she rose to the position of Executive Director, where she is now responsible for budgeting, operational oversight, medical collaboration, and ensuring appropriate allocation of resources such as medications and equipment in alignment with patient needs and Medicare hospice benefits.
Stephanie is deeply passionate about hospice philosophy and the belief that end-of-life care is just as meaningful and important as birth. She advocates for dignity in dying and works to reduce stigma around hospice care by helping families understand the value of comfort-focused decisions. She often guides families through emotionally complex moments, encouraging thoughtful reflection on care choices while emphasizing peace, presence, and quality of life. She views hospice not as giving up, but as providing a compassionate and meaningful transition, and she considers it a privilege to support patients and families during their final moments.
• Wound Certified
• Hospice Certified in Nursing
• St. Luke's School of Nursing - Diploma of Registered Nursing
• Missouri Hospice and Palliative Care Association (MHPCA)
• Foster Care Adoption
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to hard work. You know, being at the same company for 11 years, I always tell people that I have put blood, sweat, and tears into this place, literally. I've been through a lot of life events in the past 11 years, including deaths and births and all the things, and at the end of the day, if you just put in the work, you can't go wrong. At least, that's what's worked for me.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is to never manage from a place of fear. One of my mentors, Michael Stoker, told me that, and I repeat it all the time when things get hard and sticky. You know, in the medical field, sometimes there are periods where there's a lot of turnover, or like when COVID hit, everyone was saying they didn't want to do this anymore and didn't want to be part of it. So if you always keep in mind not to manage from fear, you can't lose. I still talk to Michael about day-to-day situations, asking myself am I thinking about this correctly, or what would you do in this situation, how would you handle this type of thing.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
For nurses, I always tell nurses that are going into or starting school, or thinking about it, that it's probably the hardest thing that you're ever gonna do in your entire life, but it is so worth it in the end. Try, or do whatever you gotta do when you're in nursing school, but just don't give up. Just know that at the end of the tunnel, it is amazing.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in my field is helping families understand what's best for the patient versus what they want for themselves. There's a lot of stigma around dying and around the idea that we have to save our loved ones and do everything we can to keep them alive. I've had a lot of conversations with families where, you know, we have grandma who's 99 and in and out of the hospital a few times a month, and it's like, who are you doing this for, for you or for Grandma? Because at this point, it looks like we're doing it for you. That brings people to that aha moment. I just want to spread the word to everyone that we are not the Grim Reaper. We are not coming in to take away your loved one's medications and speed up the process. We are here to provide comfort and peace.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Honesty and integrity are the values most important to me. I always say that you only have your word at the end of the day, and if you don't keep it, you have nothing. I try to express this to my staff when they're out there doing patient care, because these people are vulnerable. I tell them to never promise someone something and then not follow through on it.
Locations
Serenity Care Hospice, Inc.
Kansas City, MO 64157