Q&A with Jared Lowe, MD Why did you decide to work in palliative care? I was initially drawn to palliative care during my intern year working with palliative care physicians rounding on an inpatient oncology unit. They were excellent role models, who used their specialized training in symptom management and communication while navigating the medical … Read more

Heather Boykin, DNP, a nurse practitioner on the inpatient palliative care consult team with years of experience in dialysis, and Emily Chang, MD, assistant professor in the division of nephrology and hypertension, have partnered to form the Kidney Palliative Care Clinic (KPCC), a unique collaboration and the first of its kind at UNC.

Three UNC Palliative Care physicians were published in the recent special issue of the North Carolina Medical Journal focused on serious illness care in North Carolina. Drs. Kyle Lavin and Paul Zimmerman: Sidebar: Using Patient-Reported Outcomes to Facilitate High-Quality Virtual Care for the Seriously Ill   Dr. Gary Winzelberg and Brian Wood: Expanding and Enhancing … Read more

A recent study conducted by Dr. Elisabeth P. Dellon, Medical Director of the Children’s Supportive Care Team at UNC, surveyed adults with cystic fibrosis (CF), caregivers of people with CF, and care team members to determine palliative care needs and barriers to palliative care in CF. Dellon EP, Basile M, Hobler MR, Georgiopoulos AM, Chen … Read more

UNC-CH will play a key role in the National Institute on Aging’s (NIA) newly announced IMPACT Collaboratory, a national research incubator to improve care and quality of life for people living with dementia. Funded by a five-year $1.4 million grant, Dr. Hanson will lead the Patient and Caregiver Reported Outcomes (PCRO) Core for the Collaboratory.  … Read more

New national palliative care clinical practice guidelines seek to ensure the millions of people living with serious illness, such as heart failure, lung disease and cancer, have access to vital care that can help meet their needs. The guidelines promote improved access to palliative care, which is focused on giving patients and their caregivers relief … Read more

White Paper for Global Palliative Care Advocacy: Recommendations from a PAL-LIFE Expert Advisory Group of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Vatican City The Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV) has released a white paper published in the Journal of Palliative Medicine detailing work from the PAL-LIFE project and outlining strategic recommendations for improving global palliative care. … Read more

To start off National Hospice Month, the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management published the initial results of Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP). Zheng NT, Li Q, Hanson LC, Wessell KL, Chong N, Sherif N, Broyles IH, Frank J, Kirk MA, Schwartz CR, Levitt AF, Rokoske F. Nationwide Quality of Hospice Care: Findings from the … Read more