American Cancer Society Director, Rebecca Kirch, JD, Honored with Center to Advance Palliative Care Innovation Award
The Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) is pleased to name Rebecca Kirch, JD, Director, Quality of Life & Survivorship, American Cancer Society, Inc. (ACS), as the recipient of its annual award for innovative work in the palliative care field. The award will be presented at CAPC’s National Seminar in Dallas, TX on November 8th.
“The success of the American Cancer Society’s palliative care efforts is the direct result of Rebecca’s insight and creativity. We salute Rebecca for her visionary and strategic efforts to improve the care of all Americans living with serious illness,” said CAPC’s Director, Dr. Diane E. Meier.
“I am honored to accept this award from CAPC – an organization whose mission is closely aligned with ours at ACS, and whose leadership I admire tremendously,” said Rebecca Kirch. “ACS is firmly committed to expanding the concept of quality of life that embraces treating the “whole person” beyond the disease as a prominent health care priority. Our hope is that by increasing awareness of palliative care and its impact on the quality of life for all adults, children and families facing serious illnesses, including cancer, we can make a difficult journey a much better experience.”
Rebecca is responsible for working collaboratively to provide strategic direction bridging the Society's quality of life -related research, public policy, and program initiatives addressing the needs of patients, survivors, and caregivers.
Prior to taking on this role in October 2010, Rebecca was Associate Director of Policy for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the Society's advocacy affiliate, responsible for a portfolio covering basic and clinical research policy and improving quality of cancer care and survivorship. Her work has involved particular emphasis on activities to advance pain and palliative care policies and practices - efforts that were honored in 2008 with the American Academy of Pain Management's Legislative Policy and Advocacy Award and in 2011 with a Presidential Citation to the Society from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
About the Center to Advance Palliative Care
The Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) is a national organization that provides healthcare professionals with the tools, training, technical assistance and connectivity platforms to start and sustain successful palliative care programs. CAPC is a leader in the palliative care movement, advocating for issues that inform public policy such as enhancing the palliative care workforce, investing in the field’s science base and increasing the availability of services in the U.S. healthcare system. CAPC’s mission is to improve care for all seriously ill patients and their families by increasing access to quality palliative care services. CAPC is affiliated with The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. For more information, visit: http://www.capc.org and http://www.getpalliativecare.org.
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Lesley Snyder, Director of Communications, Center to Advance Palliative Care, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai 212.201.2682 or [email protected].