MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – “No student in the medical fields should graduate without knowing what hospice does and the impact of unmanaged pain in our country,” Malene Davis, West Virginia University graduate (M.S.N./M.B.A.) and current CEO of Capital Caring, said.
That’s why Davis decided to found a lectureship.
After raising funds among friends and colleagues, Davis, together with Hospice Care Corporation of West Virginia, hosted the first of the Perry G. Fine, M.D., Lecture Series in the fall of 2008. This coming October will mark the fifth annual lecture in which Dr. Fine along with other guest speakers has talked about current issues in palliative care to hospice workers, professors, students and other interested persons from the region.
The WVU Foundation has announced the recent creation of an endowed fund to support this project: the Perry G. Fine, M.D., Endowed Fund in Pain and Palliative Medicine.
Fine, a clinician and professor at the University of Utah, is one of the leading scholars on pain and palliative care. He has published extensively and has served on scientific advisory boards and the editorial boards of several peer reviewed medical journals.
“He is a rock star of the pain world with a hospice heart,” Davis said.
Davis and Fine met when they served together on the board of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Fine explained, “I’ve been very vocal about the important role of modern medicine in hospice care. Hospice care needs to move more towards mainstream medicine in terms of collecting outcomes and metrics. Malene shared this vision.”
“I want to honor Dr. Fine in West Virginia,” said Davis, “because in his words ‘Pain respects no borders, and in order to help people get the care they need to live their lives to the fullest, I will get on a plane anytime, anywhere.’ I wanted our people serving our moms and dads to have the opportunity to hear him. We have really increased awareness of the need for palliative care and hospice. It’s a dream come true.”
Davis hopes that other land-grant institutions will develop their own lectures about palliative pain management. “All medical professionals should ask patients about their comfort levels,” she said. “In West Virginia, when something is needed, we do it.”
The lecture series is free and open to the public each October. Free continuing education units are provided.
This gift was made through the WVU Foundation, the private, non-profit corporation that generates, receives and administers private gifts for the benefit of WVU. To contribute to the Perry G. Fine, M.D., Endowed Fund in Pain and Palliative Medicine, please contact the Office of Development at the WVU Health Sciences Center at 304-293-3980 or development@hsc.wvu.edu.