Regional Palliative Care Symposium Held at UC Medical Campus

Cincinnati—More than 150 physicians, nurses, social workers and other health care professionals from Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky gathered at the University of Cincinnati on May 27, 2011, for the region’s first palliative care symposium.

The conference is aimed at improving the health care delivery system for palliative care services—a medical field that focuses on enhancing quality of life by tackling the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of patients with chronic or life-threatening illnesses.

It takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Kingsgate Marriott Conference Center, 151 Goodman Drive, Salon C.

Diane Meier, MD, director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care and Mt. Sinai School of Medicine faculty member, will serve as keynote speaker. She will discuss data driving the rapid growth in hospital palliative care, what patients would benefit from these services and the expected outcomes.

"Many people think that palliative care is only applicable in an end-of-life situation,” says Kelly Rabah, director of patient support services and palliative care for the UC Cancer Institute and UC Health Barrett Cancer Center. "However, it’s more about improving quality of life and allowing the patient to be comfortable, to control their symptoms and to pursue their life goals and preferred course of treatment with dignity and respect.”

Other presentations and speakers include:

·         Palliative Care in Our Region: How Are We Doing?, presented by Doug Smucker, MD, adjunct associate professor, UC College of Medicine Department of Family and Community Medicine

·         Pearls and Pitfalls: Communicating Bad News with Kindness and Compassion, presented by Kelly Rabah, director of patient support services, UC Cancer Institute and UC Health Barrett Cancer Center

·         Humor in Health Care, presented by Terry Foster, registered nurse and national speaker

·         Pain Management in Palliative Care: Simple Equations for Complex Pain, presented by Cleanne Cass, DO, regional medical director for Vitas Innovative Hospice Care

·         Palliative Care in the Context of a Comprehensive Cancer Center, presented by George Atweh, MD, director of the UC Cancer Institute and UC College of Medicine hematology oncology division chief

The symposium is hosted by the UC Cancer Institute and UC Health Barrett Cancer Center with support from Vitas Innovative Hospice, Carebridge Palliative Care, Evercare Palliative Care Services and Life Center Organ Donation Network.

For more information on palliative care and patient support services at the UC Cancer Institute, visit cancer.uc.edu.