Press Release
July 2004

Celebrating Innovation in End-of-Life Care

St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children Receives National Award

St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children, the birthplace of the first palliative care program for children suffering from life-threatening illnesses, today was named a 2004 Circle of Life Award recipient by the American Hospital Association in conjunction with the American Medical Association and other professional societies. Nationally recognized for its innovative approach to care for children with special needs, St. Mary’s is one of only three organizations from all over the country to receive this prestigious award. St. Mary’s was recognized for its outstanding and life-affirming program that improves the care and quality of life for children near the end-of-life or with life-threatening conditions.

The Circle of Life Award recognizes those organizations that are changing the way the medical community and our society view death and dying. St. Mary’s provides a unique, comprehensive, holistic approach to palliative care that includes standard pain and symptom management, as well as more nontraditional approaches and counseling. “St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children has made great strides in end-of-life and palliative care. Their program reflects the importance they put on serving patients, families and those around them,” said AHA President Dick Davidson. “It is in celebration of this innovative, caring spirit that we proudly award them our Circle of Life Award.”

Originated by Burton Grebin, MD, FAAP, the CEO and President, St. Mary’s palliative care program for children with life-threatening illnesses has grown tremendously over the last 25 years. “From the beginning the efforts of the entire Palliative Care Team have been focused on ensuring that no child at St. Mary’s suffers needlessly from pain and to create an environment that promotes the greatest healing potential for our young patients,” said Dr Grebin. Led by Edwin Simpser, MD, FAAP, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, and Eileen Chisari, Vice-President of Inpatient Services, the Palliative Care Team strives daily to improve the quality of life for the children at St. Mary’s and to promote a family-centered approach to palliative care. According to Dr. Simpser, “All of the staff at St. Mary’s feel privileged to be recognized for the work and ideas we feel are so important to the children and families we serve. We hope the success of our organization helps inspire others in this area.”

Key to the success of the palliative care program at St. Mary’s is the family-centered approach to care, allowing families to choose among a wide range of support services and treatment options for their children, both at home and as an inpatient. According to Eileen Chisari, “Parents are not asked to choose between curative treatments and palliative care treatments, we believe that they can co-exist,” thus allowing the family time to celebrate the life of their child and not focus solely on end-of-life care.

This is the fifth year for the Circle of Life Award. For more information on the Circle of Life Award, visit www.aha.org/circleoflife.

Eileen Chisari, RN, Vice President, Inpatient Programs, and Edwin Simpser, MD, Chief Medical Officer (far right) with representative from the American Hospital Association.