Karen Zander
Celebration of Life Service
It is with deep sadness that we announce that Karen Zander - loving wife, dedicated (and very fun) mother and giving friend to everyone she met - died in her sleep from complications of FTD (Frontotemporal Degeneration) on the morning of August 30th.
Karen Zander, RN, MS, CMAC, FAAN, PhD Hon. was the prior owner and one of the original founders of The Center for Case Management. Her pioneering work with clinical case management and CareMap(r) systems began at New England Medical Center Hospital in Boston and is internationally recognized. She authored many articles and authored and co-authored many books. Her work touched hundreds of hospitals and has had a major impact on nursing as it is currently practiced.
Even after becoming paralyzed in 2007 (unrelated to dementia), she continued to travel the world with her family, make plenty of time for friends, and worked passionately in healthcare until selling her company in 2018. The beauty and joy that this world had to offer was never lost on her and she never took it for granted. She also understood the pains of this life for both humans and animals and made charitable giving a large priority. Her commitmentt to giving continues posthumously, as her brain will be donated to Massachusetts General Hospital Dept. of Neurology, FTD to further the study of this terrible disease in search for a cure. It will be used in many studies worldwide.
She felt deeply connected to the people and the world around her and often said that it was her relationships with others that made her happiest. If you knew Karen, you could truly feel this. She gave everyone the love and acceptance they might need. We are also so grateful that she held on to witness the marriage of her daughter Victoria to Douglas Johnston on August 22, 2020.
Karen is survived by her daughters Elise and Victoria Metzger, sons-in-law Marco Morales and Douglas Johnston, and her tirelessly devoted and exceptionally romantic husband and best friend of 43 years, Bernhard Metzger.
