Providence St. Joseph Health palliative care physician to be recognized for compassion, commitment to patients

TORRANCE, Calif., Oct. 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A visionary Providence St. Joseph Health physician who developed one of the nation's largest hospice programs for terminally ill children in Southern California is a finalist for one of the nation's most prestigious medical honors.

Glen Komatsu, M.D., regional chief medical officer of palliative care and medical director of TrinityKids Care, is one of six finalists – and the only clinician from California – for The Schwartz Center's 2018 National Compassionate Caregiver of the Year award. The award recognizes health care professionals who have shown extraordinary devotion and compassion in caring for patients and their families.

Dr. Komatsu is known for his ability to listen mindfully and walk with empathy alongside patients, many of whom he sees at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center Torrance, where he serves as medical director of palliative care.

"As a doctor, it has taken me years to understand that for children and adults who are chronically or terminally ill, it's not all about medicine," said Dr. Komatsu, who was a successful neonatologist before pursuing a palliative care fellowship at Harvard at age 50. "It's about what's important to them in their lives. It's about their families and friends. It's about what makes life worth living."

Dr. Komatsu's commitment to better care led to TrinityKids Care, the only dedicated pediatric hospice program in Los Angeles and Orange counties and one of the largest in the country. TrinityKids Care provides service to 160 children on any given day. In caring for his own ethnic community, Dr. Komatsu led development of Iyashi Care, a culturally sensitive palliative care program for Japanese Americans and older Japanese-speaking adults who are coping with advanced illness.

"Glen recognizes that the best health care involves knowing patients as whole persons, and he mentors colleagues on ways to provide emotional, social and spiritual well-being as well as medical treatments," said Ira Byock, M.D., founder and chief medical officer of the Institute for Human Caring, where Dr. Komatsu serves as senior advisor for strategy and education. "To that end, he's built palliative programs in Southern California that have become models of care for the nation."

As a cancer survivor himself, Dr. Komatsu understands what it means to cope with serious illness and recognizes the importance of relationships. During his illness, colleagues overwhelmed Dr. Komatsu by making more than 2,000 origami cranes, a symbol of hope and healing in the Japanese tradition.

Recently, the Providence TrinityCare Foundation raised more than $3.5 million in support of an endowed chair – The Thousand Cranes Endowed Chair – in Dr. Komatsu's honor to support innovation, training and caregiver well-being.

Dr. Komatsu will be recognized in front of more than 1,500 health care leaders, caregivers and patients on Nov. 8 at the 23^rd Annual Kenneth B. Schwartz Compassionate Healthcare Dinner in Boston. The award recipient will be announced during that event.

About the Institute for Human Caring:
The Institute for Human Caring at Providence St. Joseph Health seeks to make caring for whole persons and their families the new normal. Serious illness not only affects people physically, it frequently robs them of their sense of security. People living with life-threatening medical conditions often say they feel lonely, frightened, confused and depressed. Whole person care melds state-of-the-art diagnostics and treatment with expertise and services to address their emotional, social and spiritual needs. Contact [email protected]

About the NCCY Award and the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare
The Schwartz Center's National Compassionate Caregiver of the Year (NCCY) Award is a national recognition program that elevates excellence in 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.

SOURCE Providence St. Joseph Health

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