Funding Challenges
The funding climate for palliative care education initiatives continues to be very challenging. Studies have found that less than 0.2 percent of the annual budget of National Institutes of Health (NIH) support palliative care research.1 While the number of palliative care fellowship programs has grown, many medical schools are challenged to find the time to devote to palliative care in their standard training. Lack of institutional funds limit individuals’ access to professional development and other educational programs.
The HMS Center for Palliative Care’s activities are sustained through tuition revenues, but we continue to seek funding for scholarships for our courses. We are grateful to the Open Society Foundations’ Project on Death in America and Jane Weingarten and the late Dr. Charles Weingarten for their long-term commitment to scholarship funding. Special appreciation to the J. Andrew Billings, MD, Memorial Fund. Additional scholarship assistance, and support for our “patients-as-teachers” program, is provided by Partners HealthCare, Inc., the Jacqueline S. Alaimo Palliative Care Fund, and JoJo’s Education Fund.
J. Andrew Billings, MD, Memorial Fund
The J. Andrew Billings, MD, Memorial Fund was established to recognize the memory of Dr. Billings, who co-founded the HMS Center for Palliative Care in 1999 and died in 2015. The fund supported scholarships for candidates from developing countries to participate in the Palliative Care Education and Practice course. Dr. Billings felt passionately about the need for global education in palliative care, and this fund was a fitting tribute to his memory and dedication to the field.
JoJo’s Education Fund
JoJo’s Education Fund was established in 2011 in tribute to the late Josephine “JoJo” Dickerman. JoJo’s family benefited from care provided by the Pediatric Advanced Care Team (PACT) at Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center after JoJo was diagnosed with a serious brain disorder called early myoclonic encephalopathy. In an effort to bring PACT programs to other institutions around the world and train the next generation of pediatric palliative care specialists, JoJo’s family and friends have joined together to support learners focused on pediatric practice for PCEP and its successor courses. We are especially grateful to JoJo’s grandparents, Stephen and Peg Senturia, for their incredibly generous contributions to support this cause. To learn more about JoJo and the mission of the JoJo’s Education Fund, please visit: danafarber.jimmyfund.org/goto/jojo.
1: A National Strategy For Palliative Care. DE Meier, AL Back, A Berman, SD Block, JM Corrigan, RS Morrison. Health Affairs, 2017.