Palliative Care Grand Rounds – 9/27/2023

Welcome to CCSP/Palliative Care Grand Rounds

The Palliative Care and Comprehensive Cancer Support Programs (CCSP) co-organize weekly presentations on the care of seriously ill patients and their families, including individuals living with cancer, relevant to interdisciplinary clinicians. Individual topics address pain and symptom management, communication approaches with patients and families, strategies to facilitate coping and support, quality improvement and research in these disciplines.

September 27

Laura Patel, MD

Through the Looking Glass: The Future of Hospice

Bio:

After serving as Chief Medical Officer of Transitions LifeCare for nine years, in 2022 Laura Patel was unanimously elected to her role as CEO. With her hands-on approach to leadership, Dr. Patel furthers the mission, vision and strategic direction of the organization during a time of unprecedented challenge in the healthcare economy. Dr. Patel is a thought leader and collaborator at the state and national level, working to advance models of care for those with serious illness.

To address the needs of our most vulnerable population, she helped launch Transitions Kids—a home-based pediatric hospice and palliative care program. Embracing the mission and elevating wrap-around care, Dr. Patel created a partnership for the hospital-based palliative care program and formed Transitions Medical Partners—a primary care medical practice. In 2015, Dr. Patel’s educational outreach initiative resulted in a partnership between Transitions LifeCare and the University of North Carolina creating an innovative ACGME-accredited fellowship in hospice and palliative medicine. Dr. Patel values diversity, equity, and inclusion and works to improve hospice and palliative care access to all North Carolinians.

Born and raised in the Midwest, she earned her medical degree from the University of Minnesota and completed her residency in internal medicine followed by a fellowship in geriatric medicine at the University of North Carolina. Before she found her way back to the Triangle, she experienced a universal healthcare system and hospice in New Zealand, and worked for several years in a community nonprofit geriatric, hospice, and palliative care group in Baltimore.

Dr. Patel is board certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatric Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Medicine, and is a certified Hospice Medical Director. In 2017, she was named AHHC’s “Physician of the Year” and one of TBJ’s “40 Under 40.” In 2019, she was named as one

of AAHPM’s Emerging Leaders. Dr. Patel is a fellow of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She served on the North Carolina IOM Taskforce on Serious Illness and is a co-chair for the clinical practice workgroup of the NC Serious Illness Coalition.

We Offer:
Accreditation
The School of Medicine of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Continuing Medical Education Statement
The School of Medicine of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill designates this live activity for a maximum of 8.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Other health professionals will receive a certificate of attendance from an AMA PRA Category 1™ activity. These certificates are accepted by the NC Boards for physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, and respiratory therapists. Other health care providers may also be able to use these certificates, depending on their particular license requirements. (License requirements are subject to change. Participants should check with their licensing boards for specific questions. UNC and its partners are not responsible for changes in license requirements.)

Disclosure statement
This activity has been planned and implemented under the sole supervision of the course director and planning committee, in association with the UNC Office of Continuing Professional Development (UNC CPD). The course director, planning committee, presenters, and CPD staff have no relevant financial relationships with commercial interests as defined by the ACCME.

Please visit the CCSP/Palliative Care Grand Rounds calendar page to view upcoming events.