Cambia Health Foundation Launches National Initiative to Cultivate the Next Generation of Palliative Care Leaders
Portland, OR (PRWEB) February 11, 2014 -- The Cambia Health Foundation, in its continuing commitment to advancing palliative care in the United States, today announced the launch of a national initiative to identify and support outstanding physicians and nurses in the field.
The Sojourns Scholar Leadership Program will focus on cultivating emerging palliative care leaders, offering two-year, $180,000 grants to up to six scholars each year to support research, clinical, educational, or policy projects.
“At Cambia, we are focused on transforming the way people experience health care from birth through the completion of their lives,” said Mark Ganz, President and CEO of Cambia Health Solutions. “Through the Sojourns Scholar Leadership Program, the Cambia Health Foundation seeks to enable a workforce that can deliver patient- and family-centered palliative care for an entire nation.”
As the U.S. population ages, the experience of living with serious and life-threatening illnesses is increasing. The U.S. is also undergoing major health care reform where physicians and clinicians are struggling to provide palliative care in a rapidly changing environment. Addressing this growing need, and the accompanying workforce demand, requires the development of clinicians, educators, policymakers and researchers who will become the next generation of palliative care leaders.
The Sojourns Scholar Leadership Program will leverage previous successes and learnings from Cambia Health Foundation’s Sojourns Awards (a program established in 2010 to recognize established leaders in palliative care) by convening an advisory council comprised of supporters and participants from the Awards. In partnership with this council, the Foundation hopes to identify and invest in outstanding clinicians, educators, policymakers and researchers, and enable them to influence system and policy changes in palliative care.
“This is a critically important effort,” said Dr. Steven Pantilat, Director of UCSF Palliative Care Program, who chairs the Sojourns Scholar Advisory Committee. “We want to promote and encourage the next generation of leaders in palliative care and shine a light on people who are making a difference in improving care for people with serious illness. We hope this initiative will bring national visibility to their efforts and innovations.”
Sojourns Scholar Leadership Program Advisory Committee
• Steve Pantilat, MD, FAAHPM, SFHM, Director of UCSF Palliative Care Program, University of California at San Francisco
• Diane Meier, MD, Director, Center to Advance Palliative Care
• Betty Ferrell, PhD, M.A., F.A.A.N., F.P.C.N., Director & Professor, City of Hope
• Randy Curtis, MD, M.P.H, Director, University of Washington Palliative Care Center of Excellence
• Patricia Davidson, PhD, MEd, FAAN, Dean, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing
Application and Eligibility
• Applications will be accepted through March 10, 2014.
• All applications must be submitted at http://www.cambiahealthfoundation.org.
• The program will support up to six Sojourns Scholars each year.
• Each Sojourns Scholar will be awarded a two-year grant of $90,000 per year to carry out a clinical, research, educational, policy or advocacy project.
• Physicians and nurses from across the United States are eligible to apply.
About Cambia Health Foundation
Based in Portland, Oregon, Cambia Health Foundation is the corporate foundation of Cambia Health Solutions, a total health solutions company dedicated to transforming the way people experience health care. Founded in 2007, Cambia Health Foundation awards grants in three program areas: palliative and end-of-life care through the Foundation’s signature program, Sojourns; Transforming Health Care; and Children’s Health. Since 2007, the Foundation has funded more than $10 million in grants to support these causes.
Through Sojourns, Cambia Health Foundation strives to advance patient- and family-centered care that optimizes quality of life by anticipating, preventing and treating suffering. The Foundation is committed to: improving access to and quality of palliative care beyond the hospital setting through increased use of technology and expansion in nontraditional settings and rural areas; facilitating an open dialogue about end-of-life issues; strengthening the workforce to meet increased consumer demand; and recognizing leadership, innovation and inspiration in palliative care. Learn more at http://www.cambiahealthfoundation.org.
Brandi Buckman, Cambia Health Foundation, http://www.cambiahealthfoundation.org, +1 503-320-0298, [email protected]
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