Dr Helen-Anne Manion and her husband Gerard Manion have both been awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for their work with people with a life threatening illness and particularly those people dying at home since 1980.

During a four year study and research visit to USA in the mid- ‘seventies, Helen-Anne studied medical oncology, her husband, Gerard, developed a program that addressed the personal aspects of cancer – the patient’s mind, will, spirit, emotions – an intensive program aimed at mobilizing the life forces. Returning to Australia in 1977 they worked together providing their Cancer Care Program. The program was influenced by such pioneers in the mind-body field as Lawrence Le Shan, Herbert Benson, Carl and Stephanie Simonton with whom Gerard trained.

In 1997 Helen-Anne undertook specialist training in Palliative Medicine through the University of Wales, UK. She was made a foundation fellow in the Australasian Chapter of Palliative Medicine, (2000). Helen-Anne’s work with the Dying At Home Program, has received awards including those from the Australian Medical Association (Best Individual Contribution to Health Care in Australia, 2000), NSW Council of the Professions for outstanding professional service, The Rotary International Centennial Community Award and others. Helen-Anne is actively engaged as a consultant in Palliative Care.

Since 1980, Gerard and Helen-Anne have been fully engaged in the work of DYING AT HOME, a community initiative providing the carer of a dying loved one the education together with the coordination of friends and neighbours that will enable that person to remain at home to die there in the loving care of family.

They have spread the program widely in Australia and during two visits in 2004 and 2006, Gerard, Helen-Anne and Kathleen Dansie, spread the model to Limpopo District, South Africa for people dying of HIV/AIDS. In 2013, Helen-Anne, Kathleen and Br. Ray Arthur, taught the Dying At Home program in Chin State, Myanmar. In that same year, Helen-Anne taught in Wuxi China. In 2016 Maria Dias a Timorese national, Helen-Anne, Gerard, Kathleen and David Dansie (IT), and Anthony Mannion (visual media), trained 216 leaders in East Timor from Dili to remote rural villages to spread across many districts in the entire country.

The vision of Helen-Anne and Gerard is that carers worldwide be able to care for their loved at home. Their Dying at Home program has already enabled many to do that caring. The program creates a people focused on the preciousness of life, loving care, compassion and provides for a good death. The nature of compassion is that it flows onward into the wider community.

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