In honor of Naomi Feil, the Board of Trustees of the Validation Training Institute created an award to be presented to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the teaching and use of the Validation method. On June 14th, in front of 200 participants attending the symposium Dying in Peace: Validation and Palliative Care in the Final Life Phase, the first award was presented to Hedwig Neu.
Ms Neu was speechless and the audience was moved to tears.
For 23 years Hedwig Neu has directed the Authorized Validation Organization (AVO) in the Pfalz region of Germany. In these years she has spearheaded the integration of the Validation method in ong-term care homes for older adults by offering workshops, certification training and continuing education programs every year. These homes have been supported step by step in anchoring the validating, person-centered approach as well as creating (what they call) Vali-Teams of certified staff members who lead Validation groups each week and use individual Validation on a daily basis. Due to her efforts and those in these teams, these homes have received the VTI Certificate of Quality for over 10 years!
Hedwig Neu became a Master Validation Teacher in 2001 In this role she has guided others to becoming Validation Teachers with integrity and high-quality standards. She has written many articles about Validation in major, German publications. When faced with criticism about the method, she skillfully corrected misconceptions and was a perfect ambassador for Feil’s method by always maintaining her validating attitude even when faced with harshness.
Hedwig’s personal and Validation skills, her passion and dedication over decades makes her the ideal recipient of the first
Naomi Feil Award for Outstanding Service.