New York, NY—The Project on Death in America (PDIA) of the Open Society Institute announces $1.5 million in funding for 10 new Faculty Scholars. These scholars are committed to developing innovative programs in clinical care, research, education, and advocacy to improve care of the dying. During the last five years PDIA has appointed 78 faculty scholars in 50 medical schools in the United States and Canada. "These scholars are providing critical leadership to influence and facilitate a broader societal change," said Susan Block, M.D., director of the PDIA Faculty Scholars Program.
The PDIA Faculty Scholars are defining and strengthening popular and professional understanding of what constitutes good care at the end of life and encouraging a wider commitment to caring well for people as they die.
"PDIA Faculty Scholars are working to transform our society's medical culture to now give priority to education, training, and clinical service in end-of-life care issues," said Kathleen Foley, M.D., director of the Project on Death in America.
The Project on Death in America Faculty Scholars Program identifies outstanding clinical faculty who are making a commitment to improving end-of-life care, and provides support for disseminating existing models of good care, developing new models for improving care of the dying, and developing new approaches to the education of health professionals about the care of dying patients and their families
The Project on Death in America is a program of the Open Society Institute, a private operating and grantmaking foundation, is part of the network of foundations, created and funded by George Soros, active in more than 50 countries around the world. OSI U.S. Programs seek to strengthen democracy in the United States by addressing barriers to opportunity and justice, broadening public discussion about such barriers, and assisting marginalized groups to participate equally in civil society and to make their voices heard. OSI U.S. Programs challenges over-reliance on the market by advocating appropriate government responsibility for human needs and promoting public interest and service values. OSI U.S. Programs supports initiatives in a range of areas including access to justice for low and moderate income people; judicial independence; ending the death penalty; reducing gun violence and over-reliance on incarceration; drug policy reform; inner-city education and youth programs; fair treatment of immigrants; reproductive health and choice; campaign finance reform; and improved care of the dying.
2001 PDIA Faculty Scholars
Richard Brumley, M.D. and
Kris Hillary, R.N.P., M.S.N.
Kaiser Permanente
University of California, Irvine College of Medicine
Downey, California
In 1997, the Kaiser Permanente TriCentral Service Area initiated an inpatient Palliative Care Program. Modeled after Kaiser's hospice program, the palliative care program offers pain management, comfort care, and curative therapies to patients who have an estimated prognosis of less than one year. In order to promote replication of this model at healthcare sites both within and outside of Kaiser Permanente, this project will develop a comprehensive tool kit and website to provide all the educational, program design, and technical-assistance materials needed to replicate the palliative care model.
Christopher Daugherty, M.D.
University of Chicago School of Medicine
Chicago, Illinois
For advanced cancer patients who, by definition, have a life-limiting diagnosis, it remains highly unclear what factors influence their decisions to receive particular forms of care in the years, months, or weeks before death. Alternatives of care include hospice care and/or clinical trial participation involving experimental agents. This project aims to better understand decision making, information seeking, and awareness of prognosis among dying, advanced cancer patients and involved physicians.
Joanne M. Hilden, M.D.
The Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, Ohio
Pediatric end-of-life care research has shown that terminal symptoms are not adequately relieved as a child dies and that palliative care and/or hospice care providers are frequently not trained to serve pediatric patients. The Children's Oncology Group (COG) is the national clinical trials unit for children with cancer; 94 percent of children with cancer are treated in COG. This project will develop and evaluate a care model for terminally-ill children that facilitates and documents communication among the provider-parent-patient triad. The project will incorporate and evaluate interventions for both psychosocial and physical symptom control throughout illness until death.
Daniel C. Johnson, M.D.
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Denver, Colorado
Although good symptom control is an essential component of end-of-life care, many patients continue to suffer from treatable symptoms. This project will develop, implement, and evaluate evidence-based symptom management educational interventions that result in decreased symptom distress at the end of life.
Judith A. Kitzes, M.D., M.P.H.
University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center
Albuquerque, New Mexico
In 1996, there were an estimated 2.3 million Native Americans, including Alaska Natives, in the United States. The end-of-life experiences of Native Americans mirror that of the general population in that they are commonly extended, and take place away from family and community. This project aims to formalize the collaborative efforts between the national Federal/Tribal/Urban Indian Health Care system and the University of New Mexico Health Science Center through the establishment of a Native American Collaborative Center for the Promotion of Palliative Care. The program will support tribal sovereignty and self-determination in palliative care services, and evaluate collaborative palliative care training as it relates to the specific needs of Native American groups.
Laurie Jean Lyckholm, M.D. and
Patrick Coyne, R.N., M.S.N.
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Richmond, Virginia
For the medically underserved, barriers to good end-of-life care are compounded by the experiences of poverty, social isolation, or geographic isolation. The goals of this project are to define barriers to good end-of-life care for the underserved, to promote provider and public awareness of these barriers, and identify ways to overcome them.
Mary E. Paulk, M.D.
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, Texas
Provision of palliative care for indigent patients in the U.S. has not been well studied. Many U.S. hospitals are financially limited in their ability to provide palliative care, and without a system of universal coverage, a sizable portion of the population does not have easy access to healthcare. This project will evaluate a palliative care model for hospitals caring largely for indigent and minority patients, and investigate the constitutionality of current government funding practices for end-of-life care.
Michael A. Weitzner, M.D.
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
University of South Florida College of Medicine
Tampa, Florida
Although many health care professionals view clinical depression as an inevitable part of terminal illness, there are many other factors that play a role in the generation of clinical depression. This project will test the explanatory value of a social cognitive model of depression in home hospice cancer patients, and create improved screening assessment in hospice for clinical depression.