Why were people with heart failure treated differently in the hospital than patients with cancer? It’s a question that struck David Bekelman, MD, MPH, early in his career. He watched how cancer patients were treated with a “whole person” approach – meaning providers considered not only the disease, but also who the person was, their family and what mattered to them most.
Deeply moved, it led Bekelman to pursue palliative care to better treat people with heart and lung conditions. As professor of medicine at CU Anschutz School of Medicine and a co-collaborator in the palliative care research program, it also shaped his research.
Bekelman recently became part of team tasked with establishing a nationwide consortium focused on palliative care research and funded by a $64 million National Institutes of Health award. Here, he answers questions about what it means to extend palliative care to patients with heart failure and how we can better support their caregivers.