Hpci fall 2016 newsletter final

Lilian and Benjamin Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute

Palliative Care Newsletter Fall 2016

Executive Director of Hertzberg Testifies Before Congress

In September, Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute Executive Director Dr. R. Sean Morrison testified before the Congressional Subcommittee on Health, Energy and Commerce in support of the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA). Introduced by Representative Elliott Engel (D-NY16), PCHETA amends the Public Health Service Act to increase the number of permanent faculty in palliative care at medical, nursing and social work schools among other programs; promotes education and research in palliative care; supports the development of faculty careers in academic palliative medicine; and increases public awareness of the services we provide.

Dr. Morrison was called as a witness by the committee and represented the Patient Quality of Life Coalition (PQLC), a group of 40 patient, provider

and health system organizations established by the American Cancer Society. It includes Mount Sinai’s Patty and Jay Baker National Palliative Care Center. For the past few years, the PQLC has actively lobbied and advocated for the bill, and a congressional hearing is a key step in moving the legislation toward a House vote. “This bill is critically important,” says Dr. Morrison. “It is a major step forward in our effort to ensure universal access to high-quality palliative care for all Americans.”

The bill has strong bipartisan support. It has been endorsed by 217 representatives drawn equally from both parties. Prospects for passage this year or early next year are extremely promising. Dr. Morrison’s testimony and responses to the Committees questions may be seen on our website: www.moutnsinai. org/palliative. ■

Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine

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A Friend Like No Other:

Susie West

For over two decades, full-time volunteer and advisory board member, Susie West has worked tirelessly to support the Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute, doing all kinds of tasks – from developing the Institute’s database of donors to serving tea and cookies to patients and family members in the Wiener Family Palliative Care Unit.

Like many of her fellow donors and volunteers, Mrs. West first came to appreciate the value of palliative care through the illness of a loved one. Mrs. West’s husband Douglas suffered from Sjögren’s Syndrome, a relatively rare autoimmune disease. In the last 18 months of Mr. West’s life, he was cared for by Dr. Diane E. Meier, the Hertzberg Institute’s founding director.

“Of all the doctors we saw over the five years that Doug was really sick, Diane was the only one who really listened to him at the same time that she gently held his hand,” says Mrs. West. “She talked about palliative care. At that time I didn’t really know what she meant.

I just saw how she restored Doug’s dignity, which was so important to him.

She provided an added layer of support to our family, too.”

Soon after Mr. West’s death in 1995, Mrs. West established the Douglas West Endowed Memorial Lecture in Geriatrics and Palliative Care. Now in its 20th year, the lecture has had great success as a forum for discussing palliative care, aging research and healthcare policy. Dr. R. Sean Morrison, Executive Director of the Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute, delivered this year’s lecture on the history of palliative care and how it is transforming American medicine.

Former speakers have included distinguished healthcare professionals in the field, such as Dame Cecily Saunders, the founder of the modern hospice movement, and Robert Butler, the father of modern geriatrics; noted writers including Anna Quindlen, Gail Sheehy, and our 2015 speaker, Atul Gawande; and persons living with serious illness, such as Amy Berman, a registered nurse and senior program officer at the John A. Hartford Foundation, who delivered the 2013 lecture to a hushed audience, on the choices she has made while she lives with terminal breast cancer. Videos of our recent lectures are available on our website: www.moutnsinai.org/palliative.

For Mrs. West, her children and her grandchildren, the lecture is an annual opportunity to come together, remember a husband, father and grandfather, and increase awareness of palliative care. “It’s one of the

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Diane E. Meier, MD, R. Sean Morrison, MD, Albert L. Siu, MD, MPMH, 2014 Lecturer: Katy Butler, and Susie West

best investments I have made in this institution and we want the lecture to continue for many years to come,” states Mrs. West.

“Words are inadequate to describe Susie’s commitment to palliative care, her passion for improving the care of persons with serious illness and their

families, and her multiple contributions to the Institute,” says Dr. Morrison. “If every palliative care program in the country had a clone of Susie, we would achieve our goal of ensuring universal access to high-quality palliative care for all Americans within a single year.” ■

Moving Palliative Care into the Community with the Speakers Bureau In addition to Susie West’s other volunteer work and the Douglas West Endowed Memorial Lecture, she also teams up on a far-reaching project with another longtime volunteer, Bette Kerr, EdD. Since 1996, Mrs. West and Ms. Kerr have been increasing New Yorkers’ awareness of palliative care by coordinating the Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute Speakers Bureau. This volunteer program sends Hertzberg clinicians, who generously contribute their time and expertise, into diverse community venues to educate the public about palliative care and the benefits it provides.

The Speakers Bureau provides community talks and seminars to professional and lay groups who will benefit from a deeper appreciation of palliative care. “The speakers’ knowledge of the subject is impressive and their use of case presentations is highly effective in demonstrating cultural sensitivities that we need to incorporate into our delivery of care,” states Mary Dodd, LMSW, of The Carter Burden Center for the Aging.

For this and so much more, the field of palliative care owes a great debt of gratitude to both Susie West and Bette Kerr. If your organization would like a Hertzberg speaker, please contact us at (212) 241-7628. ■

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Enhancing Professional Development Over the past year, the Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute has been very grateful to have the support, guidance and expertise of Allison Barnes, Executive Coach, Transitions and Global Leadership Consultant and Seasoned Facilitator at Zest Global.

Allison Barnes is a certified coach, facilitator and change agent who draws on 15 years of corporate experience to help her clients effectively adapt to the complex needs and demands that accompany rapid growth and expansion. She has been working with the Hertzberg Institute to help us navigate the increasing demand for palliative care throughout the hospital as well as the health system.

We are so pleased that our field is moving forward at such a rapid rate and that more and more patients and families dealing with serious illnesses are receiving palliative care. We appreciate Allison’s voluntary support of our program and her expertise, which will help move us forward.

In Memoriam On July 24, 2016, the Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute lost a beloved friend, Marilyn Elizabeth Baker.

Daughter of Maureen Leahy, Nursing Director of the Wiener Family Palliative Care Unit, Marilyn died suddenly while on vacation in Florida. She was living in New York City with her mom for the year prior to her death. She was part of Mount Sinai Nurses Week last year, where she worked a tabling event for the wellness day and befriended Mount Sinai in only the

way that Marilyn could. In addition to Maureen, she is survived by her brothers Deegan and Dustin Baker, her father David Baker, and many extended family members and friends.

She shined brightly in the world and is missed beyond measure.

The Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute holds her memory in its care.

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Spiritual Care Within the Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute

Since 2006, Hertzberg’s Spiritual Care Program has addressed the emotional, spiritual and existential needs of patients and families. Over the years, the program has expanded to include two chaplains, Rabbi Edith Meyerson and Chaplain Evan Zazula, as well as chaplain interns who provide pastoral support and bereavement counseling. It also includes doulas – trained volunteer companions who offer patients comfort and companionship. Training is an important aspect of the program, educating chaplain interns and, more recently, students in pastoral education programs who will be working in the community.

With education about palliative care, they will be better equipped to provide counsel and support to congregants.

“Palliative care recognizes that we are treating the whole person, not just an illness, and attending to spirituality is an integral part of ‘whole person care’,” says Meyerson.

Meyerson and the spiritual care team help seriously ill patients and their families to feel less alone. “Palliative Care Chaplains work within the interdisciplinary team to support and comfort patients and their families by empowering them to connect with their inner wisdom to find strength, peace and meaning as they struggle with and navigate serious illness,” says Meyerson.

Just recently, a late-stage cancer patient being followed by our team on the oncology service expressed his desire to marry his longtime partner. Meyerson supported the plan for the patient to be transferred to the Wiener Family Palliative Care Unit, where she facilitated and officiated the marriage ceremony at his bedside just days before his death. “It was a beautiful opportunity to honor his wishes and bring light at a dark time,” says Maureen Leahy, Nursing Director of the Wiener Family Palliative Care Unit. ■

Lilian and Benjamin Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1070, New York, NY 10029 Tel. 212-241-1446 • www.mountsinai.org/palliative

2017 Annual Douglas West Endowed Memorial Lecture, Tuesday, April 4th with Lucy Kalanithi, MD, FACP, who wrote the epilogue to When Breath Becomes Air

Save the Date

Fall 2016

Palliative Care NEWSLETTER

Lilian and Benjamin Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1070 New York, NY 10029