The Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) is pleased to announce that its director, Diane E. Meier, MD, a pioneer in palliative care, has accepted a post with the Senate HELP Committee.

Selected as one of four 2009-2010 Health and Aging Policy Fellows, Dr. Meier will have the opportunity to directly participate in the policymaking process at the Federal level. The HELP committee has jurisdiction over issues such as workforce, medical education and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

“This is an enormous honor and a tremendous opportunity to gain insight into how health care policy is made, especially during this time of health reform,” said Dr. Meier. “My hope is that the entire field of palliative care will be the ultimate beneficiary.”

The Health and Aging Policy Fellows Program is a unique opportunity for health and aging professionals to gain the experience and skills necessary to make a positive contribution to the development of health policies that affect older Americans. The program is supported by The Atlantic Philanthropies.

“We are delighted to have Dr. Meier as part of the second cohort of Health and Aging Policy Fellows” said Harold Alan Pincus, MD, National Director of the Atlantic Philanthropies' Health and Aging Policy Fellowship. “Her experience as both a clinician and a researcher will help inform policy, and her placement in the Senate HELP Committee will give her an opportunity for a hands-on, in-depth experience in the policymaking world at such a crucial time.”

Dr. Meier is Director of both the Center to Advance Palliative Care and the Lilian and Benjamin Hertzberg Palliative Care Institute at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. She is also the Catherine Gaisman Professor of Medical Ethics and Professor of Geriatrics and Internal Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Dr. Meier is the recipient of numerous awards, including the National Institute on Aging Academic Career Leadership Award, and the Alexander Richman Commemorative Award for Humanism in Medicine. Dr. Meier is also the recipient of a 2008 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship.

As Director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care, Dr. Meier leads a national organization devoted to increasing the number and quality of palliative care programs in the United States. Her devotion to treating patients with serious and chronic illness has led to the growth of hospital palliative care programs across the country, a necessity for meeting the needs of an aging population.

Palliative care is aimed at relief of symptoms, practical support for families, and help negotiating this fragmented healthcare system. It differs from hospice care in that it helps patients manage all stages of chronic illness regardless of prognosis. Patients can receive curative and life-prolonging treatments at the same time as they benefit from palliative care.

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The Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) provides health care professionals with the tools, training, and technical assistance necessary to start and sustain successful palliative care programs in hospitals and other health care settings. Located at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, CAPC is a national organization dedicated to increasing the availability of quality palliative care services for people facing serious illness. www.capc.org

Contact: Lisa Morgan, LDM Strategies, 212-924-6182 or [email protected].

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