Palliative Care

Announcements

Palliative Care Access Varies Widely in the U.S.
According to New Study in Journal of Palliative Medicine

New Rochelle, NY, October 2, 2008 — There has been rapid growth of new, innovative palliative care consultation services in the nation’s hospitals. More than half of the 50-bed or larger hospitals in the U.S. offer palliative care services to ease pain and suffering for seriously ill patients and their families. However, the availability of these services varies widely across geographic regions, according to a study published in the October 2008 issue of the peer-reviewed, Journal of Palliative Medicine.

See how New York State fares here:

A Blog about Compassion and Health Care

Check out Schwartz Center Executive Director Julie Rosen’s blog about compassionate healthcare, Bedside Manner. Rosen tells stories of extraordinary caregivers while exploring the challenges to delivering empathic, patient-centered care. Bedside Manner is hosted by healthtalk.com.

Calendar of Events

Our monthly newsletter lists four recurring monthly noon conferences held during the academic year, as well as other Medical Center and community conferences and activities. We also post the current month's conference schedule here.

CME (Continuing Medical Education) credit is available for all of the following conferences:

• Medical Humanities Rounds—First Wednesday of the month

This new series of conferences will feature presentations by faculty and guest speakers that address issues in health care through the lens of humanities (including literature, history, philosophy, visual arts, music, religious and cultural studies, theatre and dance). For further information, contact Andrea Ehmann, 275-5800 or andrea_ehmann@urmc.rochester.edu.

• Clinical Ethics Rounds—2nd Wednesday of the month in Room 2-6408

These rounds are held on the second Wednesday of every month, from 12 - 1 p.m., and they focus on topics of ethical issues and dilemmas in medicine.

• Schwartz Center Rounds—3rd Wednesday of the month in the Whipple Auditorium, 12 - 1 p.m.

The Schwartz Center Rounds are a multidisciplinary forum where caregivers discuss important emotional and social issues that arise in caring for seriously ill patients. Schwartz Center Rounds at URMC focus specifically on bringing together providers from different disciplines (medicine, nursing, chaplaincy, social work, etc.) as well as from different services (intensive care, cardiology, neonatology, etc.) to explore those complicated or unusual cases where a team approach to care and communication are essential. Unlike grand rounds, these sessions are not about clinical problem-solving, but rather about exploring and processing the emotions that come up in the daily work of hospital staff. Participants are encouraged to engage in an interactive discussion about the issues presented and share their experiences, thoughts, and feelings.

For more information about Schwartz Center Rounds, visit www.theschwartzcenter.org.

• Palliative Care Conference—4th Wednesday of the month in Room 2-6408, 12 - 1 p.m.

This series of conferences meets monthly to consider topics relevant to Palliative Care and its mission to provide comprehensive care to seriously ill patients and their families. The domains considered include: managing pain or other symptoms; clarifying and articulating goals of care; offering patient and family support; and when needed, assistance with making end-of-life decisions.

Newsletters

Our newsletter is now available online in PDF (Adobe Acrobat) format. If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed, please visit the Adobe web site to download this free software.