VCU news

By Andrea Butler
Massey Cancer Center

The Thomas Palliative Care program at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center earned a prestigious “Circle of Life” award from the American Hospital Association for Massey’s model program that provides patient-centered palliative care to people with serious or terminal illnesses.

As one of three national award recipients from a field of more than 1,500 hospital-based palliative care programs, VCU’s palliative care team will travel to San Diego on July 29 to accept the $25,000 award and share its expertise with doctors and administrators attending the AHA’s annual conference.   

Palliative care – a fast-growing form of care in the United States -- aims to prevent and relieve suffering for patients who have life-limiting or terminal illnesses while providing emotional, physical, spiritual and practical support for patients and their families. 

“Everyone deserves the best quality of care as possible when they are coping with the extraordinary burden that terminal illnesses represent for patients and their families,” said Sheldon Retchin, M.D., CEO of the VCU Health System. “We are proud to be recognized as a national leader and innovator in palliative care, and we remain deeply committed to sharing our expertise with other healthcare providers across the country who want to offer this important form of care to their patients.”

The Thomas Palliative Care Unit has 11 beds in a unique, home-like atmosphere, providing easy access to a wide variety of treatments and therapies throughout the VCU Medical Center. About 50 percent of its patients have cancer.

A highly specialized multi-disciplinary team delivers a wide variety of services to patients including pain management, physical therapy, psycho-social counseling, financial and legal planning, spiritual counseling, pet and art therapy, massage and liberal family visitation.

Thomas J. Smith, M.D., founder and director of the program and an oncologist for the Massey Cancer Center, says, “We can address all of a patient’s needs in hours, not days, and we involve their family in the decision-making process. More and more hospitals nationwide are recognizing that not only is this the right way to treat patients, but it’s cost-effective, too.”

The Circle of Life Award celebrates programs that contribute significantly to palliative and end-of-life care. The awards are supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 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.

The Circle of Life selection committee included leaders in 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.

The Massey Cancer Center also serves as the home base for a Palliative Care Leadership Training program – one of six designated sites in the country that provides training and mentorships on the operational aspects of starting and managing palliative care programs. Massey also offers hands-on training for Virginia health care professionals who would like to learn palliative care.

To learn more about the Palliative Care Leadership Training Program, visit www.capc.org. For information on palliative care clinical training at Massey, contact Carrie Cybulski, program coordinator, at 804-628-1918; ccybulski@vcu.edu. To learn more about the Circle of Life award, visit http://www.aha.org/circleoflife.