Nominations Open for the 2016 National Compassionate Caregiver of the Year Award

BOSTON, Feb. 4, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare, a national leader in the movement to bring greater compassion and more meaningful collaboration to every caregiver-patient relationship, today announced a call for nominations for the 2016 National Compassionate Caregiver of the Year (NCCY) Award.

The annual NCCY Award recognizes health care professionals from across the country who exemplify extraordinary devotion and compassion in caring for patients and families. The award honors those who make a profound difference through their unmatched dedication to compassionate, collaborative care.

"Many of us know extraordinary health care professionals whose approach to patient care is truly inspirational," said Julie Rosen, Schwartz Center executive director. "These individuals or teams deliver remarkable care and inspire others through their exceptional compassion for patients and collaboration with colleagues. With the National Compassionate Caregiver of the Year Award, we have the opportunity to shine an important light on these professionals and help share their stories."

The Schwartz Center is accepting nominations for the 2016 NCCY Award until March 31, 2016. Individuals and teams that work in any U.S. health care setting and have direct patient contact are eligible. Nominees may include physicians, nurses, therapists, social workers, psychologists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, certified nursing assistants, home health aides, and chaplains – as well as interdisciplinary teams of caregivers. Nominations may be submitted by patients, family members or colleagues who work with the nominee. Nominations can be submitted at: theschwartzcenter.org/award.

"With unprecedented changes taking place in our health care system, caregivers are facing increasing demands and constraints that impact their ability to provide compassionate, collaborative care," said Beth Lown, MD, Schwartz Center medical director. "The NCCY Award draws attention to the importance of the human connection in medicine by honoring outstanding caregivers who make a difference in countless lives every day."

From the nominations, six finalists will be selected by a national review committee, of which one candidate will receive the prestigious NCCY Award. The recipient will be announced at the Annual Kenneth B. Schwartz Compassionate Healthcare Dinner where all finalists will be honored on Nov. 15, 2016 in Boston.

"The NCCY Award represents a career high point for me because there is no greater honor for a health care provider than being recognized for compassion. I am grateful to the Schwartz Center and I am thankful for my patients and colleagues who inspire me daily through their acts of courage and grace," said 2015 award recipient Rick Boyte, MD, a pediatric palliative care and critical care physician at The University of Mississippi Medical Center. "Offering reflexive, whole-hearted, unconditional compassion to those we serve should always be a priority."

The NCCY Award is made possible through the generous support of Modern Healthcare, the media sponsor of this year's award.

More information about the award and nomination process is available at:
theschwartzcenter.org/award.

About the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare
Established in 1995, the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare, a leader in the movement to make compassion a vital element in every patient-caregiver interaction, was founded on the belief that greater compassion and more meaningful collaboration are fundamental to the kind of care clinicians want to deliver and patients want to receive. 

Through educational programs and training, the Center helps health care professionals and patients break through barriers to compassionate, collaborative care created by today's challenging health care environment. The innovative Schwartz Center Rounds^® program unites caregivers from a range of disciplines to share experiences, learn from each other and focus on the human dimension of medicine.

More than 500 organizations in the U.S., U.K. and Canada, encompassing 200,000 health care professionals, rely on Schwartz Center programs to support clinician well-being, enhance the quality of care, enable better outcomes and create a more positive and rewarding experience for all members of the care team, patients and their families. 

To help patients and family members acknowledge caregivers who epitomize the qualities of compassionate care the Schwartz Center established the Honor Your Caregiver program.  Through its National Compassionate Caregiver of the Year award, the Center celebrates health care professionals who display extraordinary devotion and compassion in caring for patients and families.

Visit us at theschwartzcenter.org or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

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SOURCE The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare

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http://www.theschwartzcenter.org