News & Updates

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Massachusetts Patient and Community Review Board

June 21, 2023

The Massachusetts Patient and Community Review Board is designed to provide a thoughtful space for community members to share their insights and experience with healthcare researchers and program developers as they start new initiatives.

Chair of the Massachusetts Medical School Collaborative: All Med School Students Should Learn Serious Illness Communication

May 22, 2023

Dr. Jennifer Reidy believes that anyone who graduates from medical school should be able to lead effective, compassionate conversations with people with serious illnesses. As the chair of the Massachusetts Medical School Collaborative and an associate professor at UMass Chan Medical School, she is leading an effort to integrate palliative care into the core medical school curricula in her home state.

Initial POLST testing begins; EOEA is hiring!

May 22, 2023

Last week, the Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA) announced that small-scale clinical testing of the POLST Program elements will begin in June. Fairview Hospital in Great Barrington and Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, along with their local partners in EMS, Skilled Nursing Facilities, and outpatient practices, will lead the clinical testing phase.

In memory of Richard Averbuch

May 2, 2023

It’s with great sadness that we share the news that our Coalition’s first Executive Director, Richard Averbuch, passed away last week. Richard led the Coalition from 2016 to 2019 –he took it from an idea to an organization. And he did it all with a spirit of kindness, humility, collaboration, and care.

Mini-Summits coming to a town sort of close to you!

April 6, 2023

Do you enjoy seeing people in three dimensions? ‘Cause we last held an in-person Summit on May 16, 2019 and just a few things have happened since then. We’ve got four Mini-Summits this spring to bring us back together! Thank you to our Coalition members who will be graciously hosting us around the state, including Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Care Dimensions in Danvers, Blue Cross in Boston, and UMass in Worcester.

Translating Doctor Speak: Circle Advocacy

March 13, 2023

We have a new member joining us at the Coalition: Circle Advocacy, founded by Judy Korik Weinstock, a practicing physician and patient advocate. Judy spoke to us about the experiences that drove her to create this organization, dedicated to supporting patient agency and well-being.

Welcome to four new members!

March 8, 2023

We are excited to announce four new member organizations to our Coalition!

All Care VNA & Hospice
Interstitial Lung Disease Collaborative
Sewa Home Care
Circle Advocacy

Our members are working towards our shared goals in many different ways, strengthening communication, collaboration, and connection. Read more about these organizations and why they have chosen to partner with us.

Sharing Resources to Disseminate Knowledge and Improve Comfort Theory-Guided Practice

March 7, 2023

In 2016, the Massachusetts for Serious Illness Care was formed through a collaboration of local healthcare, advocacy, and academic institutions. The mission of the organization is “to strengthen the communication, collaboration, and connection between the healthcare system and communities, and between patients and clinicians, to support what matters most to everyone seeking care, especially people living with serious illness” (MCSIC, 2022). The MCSIC convened a nursing taskforce comprised of faculty and community leaders to strengthen nurses’ abilities and confidence to provide high-quality, inclusive, and equitable care for people living with serious illness in Massachusetts. The goal of this group was to be a leader in preparing and educating all nurses in palliative care and serious illness communication...

On language and power

February 27, 2023

A couple weeks ago, I was on a panel about the intersection of spirituality and serious illness care. I was one of the speakers reacting to a landmark meta analysis, published in JAMA, led by Tracy Balboni, a researcher and radiation oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. It found high quality evidence that spiritual care was broadly associated with better serious illness outcomes. (Probably not a surprise to all of you.) The whole evening left me buzzing on a million ideas, but I was especially struck by two things:

Are you teaching this spring? Launching our new Nursing Resources website

February 9, 2023

We're thrilled to announce our Nursing Resources website, which was developed by our Nursing Taskforce Resources Workgroup. They identified and vetted resources for faculty to incorporate into teaching materials. From case studies to podcasts, journal articles to videos, most of the resources are free and we provide recommendations on how to bring them into the classroom, exam room, and patient room. Join us for a webinar to learn about navigating the website and we'll share some of our favorite resources on Tues, 2/28, 12-12:45pm ET on Zoom.