News Release

Changing how America deals with living and dying

UC Davis Medical Center recognized for innovation in end-of-life care

Grant and Award Announcement

University of California - Davis Health

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -- UC Davis Medical Center today was named a Circle of Life Award winner. It was recognized for its West Coast Center for Palliative Care Education and Research, a program of the UC Davis School of Medicine that improves the care of patients near the end of life or with life-threatening conditions.

The Circle of Life Award celebrates programs across the nation that have made great strides in palliative and end-of-life care. The awards are supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in Princeton, N.J., and are sponsored by the American Hospital Association, the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, the American Medical Association, and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. UC Davis Medical Center is one of three organizations in the country honored this year with the Circle of Life Award.

The West Coast Center for Palliative Care Education and Research is best known for pioneering "simultaneous care," a model of care for cancer patients undergoing investigational therapy. Traditionally, cancer patients who have exhausted standard therapies have faced a choice. They could enroll in a clinical trial of an investigational agent that might extend life, or they could enter hospice. Simultaneous care spares patients this difficult choice. It allows patients with advanced cancer to receive both an investigational treatment and palliative care.

The West Coast Center for Palliative Care Education and Research has also been a pioneer in bringing hospice care to dying inmates in prisons, and in delivering palliative care to patients in remote rural communities via telemedicine.

"The University of California Davis Medical Center has made great strides in end-of-life and palliative care," said American Hospital Association President Dick Davidson. "Their West Coast Center for Palliative Care Education and Research program reflects the importance they put on serving patients, families and the community around them. It's in celebration of this innovative, caring spirit that we proudly award them our Circle of Life Award."

UC Davis Medical Center was chosen for the award by a selection committee made up of leaders from medicine, nursing, social work and health administration. The committee focused on innovative programs that respect patient goals and preferences, provide comprehensive care, acknowledge and address the family or caregivers' concerns and needs, and build systems and mechanisms of support to continue the program for future patients and caregivers.

"It's a privilege to be recognized for the work and ideas we feel are so important to our community. This is an award for everyone involved with the West Coast Center for Palliative Care Education and Research," said Robert E. Chason, CEO of UC Davis Medical Center.

The West Coast Center for Palliative Care Education and Research was established as a program of the UC Davis School of Medicine in 1994. It was among the first centers in the United States to conduct research and train health-care providers in palliative care. Fred Meyers, chair of internal medicine, is the center's founding director.

"The West Coast Center for Palliative Care Education and Research was founded to improve the quality of care for people with chronic and terminal illnesses, and to support both patients and their family caregivers throughout the course of an illness," Meyers said. "We are honored to receive this award, and we hope the success of our program helps inspire others in this field."

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Copies of all news releases from UC Davis Health System are available on the Web at http://news.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu


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