Dr. David Currow Named Director of Palliative Medicine and Hospice Care at Dartmouth-Hitchcock
LEBANON, N.H., Dec. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Dr. David Currow, internationally known physician-scientist, author and educator, has been named director of Palliative Medicine and Hospice Care at Dartmouth-Hitchcock. He will join Dartmouth-Hitchcock and the Geisel School of Medicine as Professor of Medicine in January 2015.
Dr. Currow will lead Dartmouth-Hitchcock's new Center for Palliative and Hospice Care, currently in the planning stages. The Center will provide interdisciplinary patient- and family-centered care, applying the latest thinking and techniques, while offering unprecedented opportunities for teaching, training, and research for health care providers and clinicians in training from across the United States.
"Although great advances in palliative and hospice care have been made in the last decade, too many people are still dying in ways they would not want, often in intensive care units, connected to machines," said Dartmouth-Hitchcock CEO and President Dr. James N. Weinstein. "At Dartmouth-Hitchcock, we have built an internationally respected palliative care program, which we look forward to expanding in this new Center and under Dr. Currow's leadership.
"Dr. Currow's international reputation, research, and expertise in palliative care will further Dartmouth-Hitchcock's leadership in person-centered care for people with life-threatening conditions," Dr. Weinstein added. "David's skills and experience in training doctors, nurses, and other professionals in conducting research that advances the field of hospice and palliative care will help propel the palliative care center to become a regional and national resource, working with hospice providers from around New England to smooth transitions of care for patients and families."
"Joining the team at Dartmouth-Hitchcock is an exciting opportunity to work with an organization that is taking a holistic approach to population health in New Hampshire and Vermont," Dr. Currow said from his office in Australia. "This opens the potential to join a team that continues the work of improving the health of the community. Care at the end of life is an integral part of optimizing the health of everyone.
"The reason palliative care is important is that it is the time of people's lives when they really focus on what is important to them. When you have limited life expectancy, limited energy and potentially limited mobility, a person really does focus on the things that mean the most to them. Ensuring they can make the most use of that time is a privilege for clinicians working with people at the end of life."
"We are delighted that Dr. Currow will be leveraging his extensive experience in palliative medicine and hospice care, and in health system design, to bring together the facets of a strong clinical program, innovation in regional health care delivery and curricular and research innovation by integrating the strengths of Dartmouth-Hitchcock, the Dartmouth Institute and the Geisel School of Medicine," stated Dr. Richard I. Rothstein, the Joseph M. Huber Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine. "David is involved in the most creative research activities in his field and is an outstanding educator with international recognition for his work. He will partner with Dr. Sharona Sachs, the section chief in palliative medicine, and we anticipate that their leadership will continue to position Dartmouth-Hitchcock and Geisel at the forefront of clinical and academic activities in palliative medicine and hospice care, building on the strong foundation established by Dr. Ira Byock, our former section chief in palliative medicine."
"Having Dr. Currow come to Dartmouth not only continues our already noted presence in palliative care, but his long-standing work in cancer will also be of great benefit to our ongoing research and discovery within the Norris Cotton Cancer Center. He brings strengths on so many fronts and it is truly a pleasure to have him join our faculty at Geisel," said Interim Dean of the Geisel School of Medicine, Duane Compton.
As professor of Palliative and Supportive Services at Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, Dr. Currow currently teaches more than 350 distance students from around the world studying palliative care at a post-graduate level. In Australia, Dr. Currow also holds the positions of chief cancer officer in New South Wales and chief executive officer of the state's cancer control agency, the Cancer Institute, New South Wales.
His research includes clinical trials, population-based planning, and codifying the evidence base underpinning palliative care. Research funding sources include Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council and the National Institutes of Health in the United States.
Dr. Currow is the principal investigator for the Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative (PaCCSC), and also is co-principal investigator on www.caresearch.com.au, an anthology of evidence in palliative care. He is a foundation partner in the Australian Palliative Care Outcomes Collaborative (PCOC), an Australian initiative to systematically improve clinical outcomes in palliative care.
A prolific author, Dr. Currow has published more than 330 peer-reviewed articles, editorials, and books. He is senior associate editor of the Journal of Palliative Medicine and serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care and the Journal of Oncology Practice.
ABOUT DARTMOUTH-HITCHCOCK – Dartmouth-Hitchcock (D-H) is a nonprofit academic health system that serves a patient population of 1.2 million in New England. Anchored by Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH, the system includes the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, one of only 41 Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the nation; the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock; affiliate hospitals in New London, NH, and Windsor, VT; and 24 Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinics that provide ambulatory services across New Hampshire and Vermont. D-H provides access to more than 1,000 primary care doctors and specialists in almost every area of medicine. In partnership with the Audrey and Theodor Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth and the White River Junction VA Medical Center in White River Junction, VT, it trains nearly 400 residents and fellows annually, and performs world-class research.
ABOUT GEISEL SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Founded in 1797, the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth strives to improve the lives of the communities it serves through excellence in learning, discovery, and healing. The Geisel School of Medicine is renowned for its leadership in medical education, health care policy and delivery science, biomedical research, global health, and in creating innovations that improve lives worldwide. As one of America's leading medical schools, Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine is committed to training new generations of diverse leaders who will help solve our most vexing challenges in health care.
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SOURCE Dartmouth-Hitchcock
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