Duke Palliative Care has grown a great deal over the last 15 years. The program started as a scrappy offshoot from Geriatrics, with Tony Galanos, MD, and Jennifer Gentry, NP, beginning to change the culture. In 2010, the Palliative Care Program (PalCare) was formalized within Hospital Medicine and, two years later, became an independent program within the Duke University Health System.
The program has grown to include:
- 21 physicians and counting
- 12 advance practice providers and counting
- 3 social workers, 2 nurses
- several affiliated chaplains
- 4 clinical fellows per year
- a highly engaged administrative team
Each year, under the leadership of David Casarett, MD, MA, Duke PalCare faculty and staff provide clinical care to thousands of patients, clinical education to over 300 interdisciplinary learners, support for palliative care research in hematologic malignancies and critical care, leadership in advance care planning and communication skills for the Health System, editorship to two national journals, and support the growth and sustainability of palliative care programs in Nicaragua, Kenya, and Thailand.
Palliative Partners
As they look forward, the program will continue to build on their successes. One program they are excited to create over the next few months is a Palliative Care Volunteer Program, which they are calling Palliative Partners. The volunteer program, which will be one of only a handful nationally, is being spearheaded by Karen Kuehnle, LCSW, a former Duke Personal Assistance Service counselor whose family and friends have been touched by the Duke Palliative Care program. Karen’s love for helping those with serious illness began when she was a hospice volunteer in Chicago. After caring for her husband Jim, who fought multiple sclerosis and cancer, Karen reached out to our team to find a way to give her time and expertise.
Dreaming Together
Over the last 6 months, Karen and the Duke PalCare team have met with current and former volunteer program leaders at Duke Hospital, Duke Hospice, and other palliative care programs to dream together about the program. "We envision a pretty wide variety of services in our program," says Dr. Chris Jones, Director of Outpatient Palliative Care. These services range from inpatient compassionate visits, calls to patients scheduled for a palliative care appointment to help increase their understanding of palliative care and answer questions, supportive help to patients’ families, and creation of a “Legacy Program” across Duke’s hospitals. "There are more possibilities than we could have imagined. We’re excited to welcome pre-health undergraduates, medical students, Duke employees, and interested community members to join our volunteer program to support both our patients and other clinical team members throughout Duke," he says.
Kickoff Event
This Spring, Duke Palliative Care will be hosting an evening kickoff for the volunteer program at Karen’s home in Chapel Hill. If you would like to become a Founding Supporter of our volunteer program by giving either financially or of your time (or both!), please click here or reach out to Karen or Dr. Chris Jones.