• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Awards Accreditation to Capital Hospice Physician Fellowship

Posted on: Wednesday, 21 December 2005, 15:00 CST

FAIRFAX, Va., Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine has awarded formal accreditation to the Capital Hospice Palliative Medicine Fellowship, an advanced training program for physicians seeking board certification in hospice and palliative medicine. Capital Hospice along with organizations in Chicago and San Diego are the only accredited community hospice-based programs in the U.S. The other 14 accredited programs are based either in research hospitals or university medical centers.

"The majority of hospice and palliative care is delivered by community- based organizations such as ours so it makes sense that a rigorous and excellent program serve as the model for physicians to receive advanced training," said J. Cameron Muir MD, Vice President for Medical Services at Capital Hospice. "Our mission, in part, is to improve end-of-life care through education. The process by which we teach physicians about hospice and palliative care is collaborative and gives us an opportunity to improve the care we offer our own patients."

There are approximately 3,000 hospice organizations, 1,200 hospital-based palliative care programs in the U.S. and 1,800 physicians who are ABHPM certified. The number of physicians seeking board certification is expected to skyrocket should the American Board of Medical Specialties vote in its meeting next Fall to formally recognize Hospice and Palliative Medicine as a medical specialty in the same way it does cardiology, obstetrics and psychiatry, for example. Likewise, the need for ABHPM certified physicians would increase dramatically should the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine subsequently recommend that all hospice organizations and palliative care programs have at least one ABHPM certified physician.

All 17 Capital Hospice physicians are either ABHPM certified or will take their board exams in 2006. "I believe our accreditation was awarded because of the expertise we offer in treating patients at home, in clinics, in hospitals and long-term care facilities, along with our staff's passion for teaching, and a rigorous curriculum," Muir said. Fellows are expected to complete the one year curriculum in July, and then take their ABHPM certification exams in November.

One of the challenges of offering such a Fellowship program is the expense. "All of the costs associated with training a Fellow in the Capital Hospice program total close to $100,000," said William Houley, President and CEO of Capital Hospice. "The benefit to the community is both substantial and increasing," Houley added. "In the two years since the Capital Hospice Palliative Medicine Fellowship was established, each of the physicians who has completed the training has decided to remain in the community and remain associated with Capital Hospice," he said.

Capital Hospice, a nonprofit organization, has provided expert end-of-life care to 40,000 patients and their families in the Washington community since 1977. Compassionate and specially trained staff provide pain and symptom management as well as emotional and spiritual support to people with life- limiting illnesses and their families in Northern Virginia, Washington D.C. and Prince George's County, Maryland. Capital Hospice is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. For more information about Capital Hospice, please visit http://www.capitalhospice.org/

Capital Hospice

CONTACT: Spencer Levine, Director of Communications of Capital Hospice,Office: +1-703-531-6241, Mobile: +1-703-217-4358, orSlevine@capitalhospice.org

Web site: http://www.capitalhospice.org/

Source: PRNewswire

More News in this Category