Palliative Programs Supported Through Nation’s Largest Physician Specialty Training Program at San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine

(SAN DIEGO) – Palliative programs are growing in the nation, focusing on expert medical care that treats pain, symptom management, and the social and psychological needs of adults and children with a life-limiting illness. Locally, San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine hosts the nation’s largest physician specialty training program in Palliative Medicine. Twelve physicians have been selected from hundreds of applicants across the
 United States to take part in its Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program in San Diego, California.
 
Physician fellows are selected annually in a competitive process for the year-long clinical training program that leads to board-eligibility in hospice and palliative medicine, with the goal of pursuing a long-term career as a clinician or academician in
 this emerging field of medicine. The Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program at San Diego Hospice is ACGME-accredited with Scripps Mercy Hospital, and is recognized as one
 of the most rigorous, cutting-edge courses of study in the nation.
 

Fellows participate in
 academic training and apply their skills in care settings, such as working with San Diego Hospice home care teams throughout the county, and in San 
Diego Hospice’s Inpatient Care Center in Hillcrest, the only licensed hospice-hospital in California, as well as in the San Diego Hospice Care Center at GlenBrook Skilled Nursing in Carlsbad. 
These settings provide unmatched preparation for careers in Palliative Medicine.
 
“Physician fellows who complete the program gain experience in a variety of settings, whether in a hospice inpatient setting, at a patient’s home, in long-term care settings, or in a consultative capacity at a hospital,” said Gary T. Buckholz, MD, FAAHPM, Director of the Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program at San Diego Hospice. “This learning environment provides the fellows leadership tools in palliative care, research and education.” 

 
Recognizing the need for more clinicians to provide compassionate, expert medical care that focuses on “whole-person” care, the Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program at San Diego Hospice has received tremendous community support through charitable contributions from Mr. and Mrs. Dan and Vi McKinney, The Dr. Seuss Foundation, and the Donald C. and Elizabeth M. Dickinson Foundation.
 
Joining the Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program starting July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013 are: Lase Ajayi, MD (Pediatrics); Enma Alvarado, MD (Internal Medicine), Kyle Edmonds, MD (Family Medicine), Kristin Forner, MD (Anesthesia); Sonja Kassuba, MD (Internal Medicine); Alex Madonis, MD (Internal Medicine); Dominic Moore, MD (Pediatrics); Chris Pietras, MD (Internal Medicine); Steven Rayle, MD (Internal Medicine); Monica Rosenthal, MD (General Surgery & Emergency Medicine); Paul Sychangco, MD (Geriatrics); Collin Zimmerman, MD (Internal Medicine)
 
About San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine (http://sdhospice.org)
 San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine is one of the largest nonprofit hospices in the country. The organization brings compassionate, expert medical care to more than 1,000 seriously ill adults and children each day throughout the county and grief support to more than 12,000 individuals each year. Call for information toll-free at 1-866-688-1600. Join our online communities on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube.

Contact Information

Melissa DelaCalzada

Executive Director, Communications and Public Relations


San Diego Hospice

mdelacalzada@sdhospice.org