AAHPM held their first in-person Board Meeting since the start of the pandemic. Masked and physically-distanced, the Board reflected on the challenges of the past year and a half, and the opportunities for innovation to connect the hospice and palliative care community while living in a world of uncertainty.
New Content was added to AAHPM Learn this month, including the AAHPM Learn subscription, as well as eight new interactive education activities. The diverse topics are targeted to meet your current educational and informational needs. The subscription to AAHPM Learn provides access to new content and at least one new learning activity each month. CME and MOC available.
Congratulations to the 2022 AAHPM award winners. We thank you for your hard work and dedication to the field.
- Lifetime Achievement Award – J. Randall Curtis, MD MPH
- Gerald H. Holman Distinguished Service Award – Kyle Edmonds, MD FAAHPM
- Josefina B. Magno Distinguished Hospice Physician Award – John Manfredonia, DO HMDC FACOFP FAAHPM
- Distinguished Hospice Interdisciplinary Team Member Award – Mary Lynn McPherson, PharmD MA MDE BCPS
- Richard Payne Outstanding Achievement in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award – Tammie Quest, MD FAAHPM
- Humanities Award – Nicole Robinson, MFA
- Award for Excellence in Scientific Research in Palliative Care – Areej El-Jawahri, MD
- Award for Excellence in Education and Training – Janet Abrahm, MD FACP FAAHPM
- Early Career Investigator Award – Kate Courtright, MD MS
- The State of the Science in Palliative Care Research Mentoring Award – J. Randall Curtis, MD MPH
AAHPM graciously thanks each individual who donated to the Academy during Giving Tuesday week and year round. Your generous donations help support the mission of the Academy: to advance hospice and palliative medicine through enhancing learning, cultivating knowledge and innovation, strengthening workforce and advocating for public policy to achieve your vision. Please consider giving a gift to AAHPM this holiday season.
Thanks to Chad Kollas, Ron Crossno and Kyle Edmonds for representing AAHPM during the Special Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates held Nov. 12-16. We appreciate your efforts to advance sound policy that supports patients with serious illness and the profession of HPM. Review highlights from the meeting or all business considered.
AAHPM submitted comments on the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services draft Strategic Plan for FY 2022-26, which does not reference serious illness. The Academy offered specific recommendations for how HHS could prioritize increased patient access to and utilization of high-quality hospice and palliative care services, support balanced pain care policy, and bolster the HPM workforce within the proposed framework.
Academy leaders and staff joined NCHPC partners in a meeting with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to discuss the Coalition’s “Recommendations for Cross-cutting Quality Measures to Include in All Payment Models Involving Care for People with Serious Illness.” AAHPM led the Coalition workgroup that developed the consensus guidance.
AAHPM joined specialty and state medical societies to send a letter urging congressional leaders to extend a 3.75% payment adjustment to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule that lawmakers passed last year to blunt the financial impact of the pandemic. Combined with other statutory reductions set to hit on Jan. 1, 2022, physicians face a 9.75% payment cut absent congressional action.
The Academy is a sponsor of the NASEM Roundtable on Quality Care for People with Serious Illness, which held a public workshop via three webinars in November. The sessions considered how to apply lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic to improve serious illness care and featured AAHPM past president Rodney Tucker and CMO Joe Rotella. Recordings and meeting materials are posted on the Roundtable website.
American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) released the updated Standards for Continuing Certification for all allopathic boards of medicine. AAHPM offered input and it made a difference. AAHPM convened a work group that provided substantive comments including a call for equitable care that is acknowledged in the updated standards.
Congratulations to the 58 individuals who met the qualifications for the Academy’s highest honor, Fellow of the Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (FAAHPM). This honor is achieved by those whose professional activity is devoted to the practice of hospice and palliative medicine.
- Sunil Aggarwal, MD FAAHPM
- John Ahern, MD FAAHPM
- Robert Ancker, MD FAAHPM
- Sik Kim Ang, MD FAAHPM
- Ahsan Azhar, MD FAAHPM
- Chandana Benerjee, MD FAAHPM
- Jason Beckrow, DO FAAHPM
- Erin Bendas, DO FAAHPM
- Laurence Boggeln, MD FAAHPM
- David Buxton, MD FAAHPM
- Kerry Case, MD FAAHPM
- Chih Chuang, MD FAAHPM
- Amelia Cullinan, MD FAAHPM
- Bethany-Rose Daubman, MD FAAHPM
- Laura Dingfield, MD FAAHPM
- Danielle Doberman, MD FAAHPM
- Mark Edwin, MD FAAHPM
- Ronit Elk, PhD FAAHPM
- Andrew Epstein, MD FAAHPM
- Kristin Forner, MD FAAHPM
- Stephen Gates, MD FAAHPM
- Carl Grey, MD FAAHPM
- Rose Guilbe, MD FAAHPM
- Dana Guyer, MD FAAHPM
- Mark Hughes, MD FAAHPM
- Ramandeep Kaur, MD FAAHPM
- Erica Kaye, MD FAAHPM
- Jordan Keen, MD FAAHPM
- Shiao-Yen Khoo, MD FAAHPM
- Andrew Lawton, MD FAAHPM
- John Liantonio, MD FAAHPM
- Shih-Ning Liaw, MD FAAHPM
- Vanessa Little, DO FAAHPM
- Elizabeth Loggers, MD FAAHPM
- Krishelle Marc-Aurele, MD FAAHPM
- Mary Lynn McPherson, PharmD FAAHPM
- Deshini Moonesinghe, MD FAAHPM
- Vandana Nagpal, MD FAAHPM
- Ritika Oberoi-Jassal, MD FAAHPM
- Zulmarie Oritz, MD FAAHPM
- Khalida Pathan, MD FAAHPM
- James Powers, MD FAAHPM
- Alana Sagin, MD FAAHPM
- Christine Schwartz-Peterson, MD FAAHPM
- Susan Self, MD FAAHPM
- Mindy Shah, MD FAAHPM
- Ruhi Shariff, MD FAAHPM
- Tressia Shaw, MD FAAHPM
- Jodi Sperber, DO FAAHPM
- Katie Stowers, DO FAAHPM
- Charles Strulovitch, MD FAAHPM
- Bridget Tracy, MD FAAHPM
- Peter Tucker, MD FAAHPM
- Kathryn Walker, PharmD FAAHPM
- Hope Wechkin, MD FAAHPM
- Cheryl Williams, MD FAAHPM
- Matthew Wilson, MD FAAHPM
- Christopher Woodrell, MD FAAHPM