The scholars represent the next generation of palliative care leaders and demonstrate the Foundation’s commitment to whole-person care for people with serious illness
The Cambia Health Foundation has announced the selection of 12 emerging palliative care leaders for its Sojourns® Scholar Leadership Program. In its ninth year, this program identifies, cultivates and advances the next generation of palliative care leaders.
“We are excited to support the development of these emerging palliative care leaders and enhance their expertise so that they can improve patient care and influence broader system change,” said Peggy Maguire, president and board chair of Cambia Health Foundation. “This year’s cohort is comprised of people with diverse interests and experiences who will learn from each other and work together to advance whole-person health for people with serious illness.”
The latest cohort was chosen following a rigorous selection process from a highly competitive pool of candidates that included all members of the interdisciplinary team and health systems professionals working to advance palliative care. Each Sojourns Scholar receives a two-year, $180,000 grant ($90,000/year over a two-year period) to conduct an innovative and impactful project tied to a leadership development plan that positions the scholar for growth as a national leader in the field of palliative care. Scholars also join a collaborative learning community where they receive one-to-one mentoring from an established palliative care leader and targeted training on key leadership skills.
Among the 2022 Sojourns Scholar Leadership Program grant recipients are Channing Tate, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Colleen McIlvennan, PhD, DNP, MS, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Here are their proposed projects:
Channing Tate: Underutilization of Hospice Care in Older Black Americans
The proposed project will recruit a nationally representative cohort of older Black adults to evaluate their knowledge of hospice, opinions of hospice, and self-efficacy in making decisions about hospice care. Additionally, the study will evaluate if a hospice-specific patient decision aid could improve hospice knowledge, opinions and self-efficacy in making decisions about hospice care.
Colleen McIlvennan: Pilot Testing ENABLE-LVAD: An Early Palliative Care Intervention for Family Caregivers of Patients with a Left Ventricular Assist Device
There are no tested interventions to date to support the role of family caregivers caring for patients with LVAD. In addition, there is little formalized training or resources provided to LVAD clinicians around how to practice primary palliative care and support FCGs. To address these needs, we have begun initial development of ENABLE-LVAD, an early palliative care intervention to optimize the role and outcomes of FCGs of patients with LVADs. This pragmatic, pilot randomized trial will assess the feasibility, acceptability, and explore preliminary signs of efficacy of the first support intervention specific to FCGs of patients with LVADs. Results will be used to inform a future R01 clinical trial.
Cambia Health Foundation recently opened the 2023 Sojourns Scholar Leadership Program call for applications, which will be the tenth and final cohort within the original program commitment of investing in up to 12 scholars per year for 10 years.
The Cambia Health Foundation launched the Sojourns Scholar Leadership Program in 2014 with the goal of advancing capacity, leadership and innovation in the field of palliative care. The Foundation’s purposeful investment in palliative care leadership supports a larger vision of a transformed health care system that is more compassionate and person-focused. Since the program started, Cambia has awarded more than $17 million to 96 Scholars across the country, each focused on different areas of palliative care, but all committed to improving the experience of people facing serious illness and their caregivers.
About Cambia Health Foundation
Cambia Health Foundation is the corporate foundation of Cambia Health Solutions. Founded in 2007, the foundation has funded over $110 million in grants to advance patient- and family-centered care for all. We purposefully invest in ideas that expand access to behavioral health care to advance equity through whole-person health.
