Dr. Melanie Oblender, MD

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Get to know Hospice and Palliative Medicine Specialist Dr. Melanie Oblender, who served patients in Lubbock, Texas.

Dr. Oblender is a retired hospice and palliative medicine from Hospice of Lubbock, where she served numerous roles. She also was the Founder of the Covenant Health Palliative Medicine program, and served as Chair of the Covenant Health Ethics Committee.

Back in the early days of her academic career, she graduated with her medical degree from the University of Texas Medical School. She then went on to complete her residency and fellowship at the University of Texas Medical Branch Hospitals. She maintained board certification in hospice and palliative medicine through the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Throughout her career, Dr. Oblender served as a mentor to students of all professions, but has been heavily involved in serving as faculty and a mentor for the Texas Tech School of Medicine Hospice & Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program, and frequently delivers lectures there or at one of the area’s schools of nursing. She also presented numerous times at the Ryburn Hospice and Palliative Medicine Symposium.

Hospice and palliative medicine is a formal subspecialty of medicine in the United States that focuses on symptom management, relief of suffering, and end-of-life care. Hospice and palliative medicine specialists are medical doctors who help prevent and relieve suffering of patients who have a serious illness or who have only a short time left to live. They work with a team of other professionals to address the needs of both the patient and loved ones.

As a testament to her success, Dr. Oblender was the recipient of the 2016 Texas New Mexico Hospice Organization (TNMHO) Advocate Award.

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