Robb Miller was Executive Director of End of Life Washington from 2000 through April 2015
Robb’s first connection with Compassion In Dying (as it was called then) was as a client with HIV in 1996. He had witnessed the painful and prolonged death of his first partner from complications of AIDS, and came to realize, in his own words, that “the merciful option of a peaceful humane death should be a basic right.”
Thankfully, not only for his family and friends but for the citizens of Washington State and the field of palliative and end-of-life care in general, Robb survived beyond his two-year prognosis and was able in 2000 to take the helm of what has since become the third largest choice in dying organization in the country.
15 Years of Leadership
Robb’s 15 years of leadership at End of Life Washington encompassed many landmark changes and developments. The organization grew from having a full-time executive director with a part-time administrative assistant to now include an associate director whose focus is fundraising, a social worker supervising our client support team, a community education director, a lobbyist, and an administrative associate. Physician aid in dying wasn’t legal when Robb started, and the organization had one medical director, a volunteer client support team coordinator, and ten client support volunteers, typically working with about 20 clients. Because of Robb’s creative vision, tireless efforts, and skill in collaborating with, and coordinating the efforts of, a wide range of people including the public, health care professionals, health care groups, volunteers, coalitions, funding organizations, and the media, we now have 40 client support volunteers and four volunteer medical directors serving nearly 100 active clients statewide at any given time. Thousands of people have attended our community forums and advance planning seminars.
A Legacy of Integrity
Robb fostered the growth, influence, acceptance, and credibility of End of Life Washington and raised the organization’s profile to become a major player in the health care community in Washington State. His accomplishments and contributions to promote choice and improve quality of end-of-life care are too numerous to list in their entirety, but include the following:
He was a leader and spokesperson for the Initiative-1000 Coalition, which passed the Washington Death With Dignity Act with nearly 60 percent of the vote in November 2008. The Act became legal March 5, 2009, and, since that time, End of Life Washington has been at the forefront of providing free client support services to people choosing to use the law and supporting and guiding the health care professionals who care for them.
In 2005 he was the recipient of the Hugh Gallagher Award, a national social justice award given to the person who has most effectively advocated for the rights of people from diverse backgrounds.
In 2005 he played a key role in the reorganization of the national organization, Compassion & Choices, following the merger of End of Life Choices (formerly known as Hemlock Society USA) and the Compassion In Dying Federation. Robb then coordinated the merger of End of Life Choices of Washington State and Compassion In Dying of Washington. This ultimately led to the creation of End of Life Washington.
He served on the Steering Committee of the Washington End of Life Coalition (WEOLC) for fifteen years. Robb was responsible for a change in the prevailing attitude of the Coalition from one of opposition and skepticism to acceptance and respect for Death With Dignity because of his rational advocacy for the use of the medical model for client services and his consistent approach when working with opponents that was based on education, collaboration, and building bridges.
He created the first-in-the-nation Hospital Visitation Authorization for LGBTQ and unmarried heterosexual couples who were not afforded the right of hospital visitation because they were not able to marry, chose not to marry, or were not named as one another’s health care agents in a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care.
In his role on the WEOLC Steering Committee, he was an early advocate for the state of Washington to adopt the Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) program and helped develop and promote the use of POLST throughout Washington.
In collaboration with Rep. Jim Moeller (D – Vancouver), he played a key role in the creation of Washington’s Living Will Registry, the first online registry in the nation to include POLST forms. (Note: The Living Will Registry was terminated several years ago due to budget reductions.)
He developed many documents to help people with their end-of-life decisions, including the highly regarded End of Life Washington Advance Directive, in collaboration with attorney and board member, Terry Barnett. These documents are available on the End of Life Washington website.
In 2012, with Lisa Brodoff, Robb created the first Alzheimer’s and Dementia Mental Health Directive in the United States.
He created and developed the End of Life Washington website, which contains a wealth of information and resources about end-of-life choices for the public and for health care providers.
During his 15 years with End of Life Washington, Robb gave hundreds of presentations to civic groups, religious groups, community college classes, University of Washington and Seattle University students, and professional groups. He also spoke at major conferences sponsored by the WEOLC, the Washington State Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, and the Washington Alzheimer’s Association Western and Central Chapters. He promoted and developed collaborative relationships with hospices throughout Washington. He cultivated excellent relations with the local media, becoming a respected resource and a frequently published and quoted writer on end-of-life issues.
He participated in the Washington State Comprehensive Cancer Control Project’s Medical Care Work Group in the creation of recommendations that included a goal to “ensure the provision of adequate end-of-life care that enables patient autonomy by providing patients complete and accurate information regarding all legal and ethical end-of-life care options.”
He set organizational records for grant writing and cultivating and acquiring funding sources, such as the Riverstyx Foundation, Dudley Foundation, Pride Foundation, and several others.
His informed guidance and oversight enabled the Board of Directors to work productively and harmoniously.
He was a founding member and the first leader of the Washington Coalition for Patients’ Rights, a group that formed in response to the expansion of religiously controlled health care in Washington that includes representatives from reproductive rights, civil liberties, and LGBTQ organizations.
How has Robb managed to accomplish so much?
Interestingly, he comes from a very different background from advocacy, social justice, or the nonprofit world. He holds bachelor’s degrees in music theory and performance and was a professional trumpet player for many years. He then earned degrees and professional certificates in applied science, kinesiology, and health and wellness, and worked as an athletic director and kinesiologist for many years.
Those who know and work with Robb believe it is due to a combination of his incredible skills and abilities, his passionate dedication to the social justice issue of patient rights and choice at the end of life, and a wide range of personal qualities that have been noted by colleagues, coworkers, members of the Advisory Committee, Board of Directors, donors, and individuals and families who have benefited from his services. Words frequently used to describe Robb are pragmatic, persistent, collaborative, dignified, patient, diplomatic, visionary, informed, warm, funny, compassionate, honest, calm, tireless, and articulate. He has also been described as an outstanding speaker, a person with an impressive ability to connect with diverse groups, exemplary in relations with donors, and someone who never fails to express direct appreciation and thoughtfulness regarding everyone he works with. And, finally, he’s legendary for his expertise with plants and affection for children, both of which further reflect his trait of being a true nurturer of all living things.
Robb wrote in a 2010 newsletter on his 10th anniversary as Executive Director of End of Life Washington, “One of the high points of my life was the passage of I-1000 in 2008.
Providing qualified, terminally ill patients with another end-of-life option – one that can provide control, peace of mind, and dramatically improve the quality of life at the end of life – has changed the entire paradigm of end-of-life care in Washington.”
Robb Miller has truly been a leader in the forefront of the movement for patient-centered end-of-life care and the option for a peaceful, humane death. The residents of Washington State are the fortunate heirs of the remarkable legacy of this extraordinary human being.
Thank you, Robb, for all you have done for End of Life Washington and for the people of Washington State!