Center for Palliative Care
Summary:
The Center for Palliative Care
provides compassionate clinical care to patients and families experiencing life-threatening,
life-limiting, or advanced illness. The Center also provides leadership in teaching
health professionals and trainees, conducting collaborative research, and influencing
health-care delivery and public policy.
The Center for Palliative Care provides symptom control, pain management, emotional
and spiritual support, nutrition guidance, psychological and social help, bereavement
counseling, assistance in care giving, health-care goal setting, and end-of-life
planning.
Research Areas:
- Health Services Research in Advanced Illness and End-of-Life Care
- Quality Improvement in Inpatient End-of-Life Care (Kathryn Burgio, Ph.D.; Amos Bailey,
M.D.; Rodney Tucker, M.D.)
- Quality Improvement in Advanced Illness Care (Congestive Heart Failure-CHF-Rodney
Tucker, M.D.; Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease-COPD-Christine Ritchie, M.D.,
M.S.P.H., Edmond Tipton, Amos Bailey, M.D.; HIV-Jessica Pullens, Rodney Tucker,
M.D.; Cancer-Elizabeth Kvale, M.D.; Dementia- Christine Ritchie, M.D., M.S.P.H.,
Julie Locher, Ph.D., David Roth Ph.D.)
- Survivorship Research
- Cognitive Sequelae of Chemotherapy in Older Adults (Elizabeth Kvale, M.D.; Karlene
Ball Ph.D.; Burt Nabors, M.D.)
- Nutritional Sequelae of Chemotherapy/Radiation Therapy (Julie Locher, Ph.D.; Bill
Carroll, M.D.; Scott Magnuson, M.D.; Christine Ritchie, M.D., M.S.P.H.)
- Nutrition/Anorexia/Cachexia in Advanced Illness (Christine Ritchie, M.D., M.S.P.H.;
Julie Locher, Ph.D.; Elizabeth Kvale, M.D.)
- Bereavement Qualitative Research (Beverly Williams, Ph.D.; Charlotte Williams, M.D.;
Lesa Woodby, Ph.D.; Kathryn Burgio, Ph.D.; Amos Bailey, M.D.)
- Public Policy Research (Meredith Kilgore, Ph.D.; Julie Locher, Ph.D.; Christine
Ritchie, M.D., M.S.P.H.)
- Monthly Palliative Care Research Forums are held at the Birmingham VA Medical Center
and offer investigators opportunities to discuss proposed or active research projects.
For more information, email Vicki Herring.
Clinical Services:
- Palliative & Supportive Care Clinics
-
The Supportive and Palliative Care Clinics are the two main outpatient clinics for
patients in need of clinical services for symptom management, goal setting, and
other issues. The clinics are staffed by physicians, nurses, and therapists with
expertise in the treatment of patients undergoing current or previous cancer therapies,
as well as a broad range of other conditions, such as Congestive Heart Failure,
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, and Dementia. In addition, we provide palliative-care
services to HIV patients in the UAB HIV Clinic.
- VA Hospital Palliative Care Unit
-
The Birmingham VA Safe Harbor Palliative Care Unit provides comprehensive end-of-life
comfort care for patients and supports the transitional care needs of patients with
advanced, multi-morbid conditions.
- University Hospital Palliative and Comfort Care Unit
-
The Palliative and Comfort Care Unit is located on the 3rd floor of the Center for
Psychiatric Medicine. It provides comprehensive symptom management for patients
with advanced and life-limiting illnesses, and provides support for patients to
transition to the most appropriate setting when their goals of care have become
palliative.
- Palliative Care Consult Services at UAB and the VA
-
The Palliative Care program provides palliative care consultation services, both
at University Hospital and at the Birmingham VA Medical Center. These services include
assistance with complex decision making and determination of goals of care; symptom
management; provision of psychosocial and spiritual support; and discussion of treatment
options and community settings of care, including hospice.
Education:
Physician training through clinical electives is offered to fellows (palliative
care, geriatrics, medical oncology, nephrology, pain) and medical residents. Medical
student training is available through clinical electives and scholars week. Nursing
training is offered through the ELNEC (Education for Nurses in End of Life Care)
and through the Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner Training Program in the School
of Nursing. Graduate training is offered to psychology graduate students through
a one-year assistantship.
Opportunity for faculty involvement:
Faculty, postdoctoral, and predoctoral students are encouraged to participate in
the Center for Palliative Care (CPC) through collaborations with established investigators
and through faculty appointment in the Center.
Additional information can be found at
www.palliative.uab.edu.
Program contact person:
Christine S. Ritchie, M.D.,
M.S.P.H.
Associate Professor of Medicine
Division of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine
Department of Medicine
CH-19, Suite 219
The University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, AL 35294
(tel) (205) 975-8197
(fax) (205) 975-8173
Leaders and Key Staff:.
- Christine S. Ritchie, M.D., M.S.P.H., Director
- Pamela Fordham, D.S.N., Deputy Director
- Vicki Herring, Administrative Assistant
- Rodney Tucker, M.D., Medical Director, UAB Palliative and Comfort Care Unit
- Elizabeth Kvale, M.D., Medical Director, UAB Outpatient Palliative and Supportive
Care Programs
- F. Amos Bailey, M.D., Medical Director, VA Palliative Care Program