Sharp HealthCare Recognized for Innovation in Palliative and End-of-Life Care

San Diego organization is one of six in the nation to receive the Circle of Life Award®.

SAN DIEGO — The American Hospital Association (AHA) announced Sharp HealthCare as a Circle of Life Award winner. As a part of Sharp HealthCare, Sharp HospiceCare received the recognition for its innovative program designed to improve the care for patients near the end of life or with life-limiting conditions. A total of six organizations were recognized, comprising three winners and three recipients of the citation of honor.

Sharp HospiceCare focuses on palliative, or relief measures, rather than curative treatments for those facing the end-stages of a serious illness. Programs such as advance care planning consultation, residential hospice homes and Transitions, a palliative consultative service for patients with advanced-stage illness, are a few examples of the organization’s innovations. 

“Sharp HospiceCare possesses a pioneering spirit and a strong culture of quality improvement that allows us to be a leader in comprehensive palliative and end-of-life care,” said Suzi K. Johnson, vice president of Sharp HospiceCare. “Our team of dedicated physicians, clinicians, support staff and volunteers has worked hard to ensure the success of these programs, and we are honored to receive such prestigious recognition through this award.”

Sharp was chosen by the Circle of Life Award Committee, which noted the organization’s delivery of palliative care in an integrated system and shift of palliative care earlier in the trajectory of the disease. The selection committee — comprised of leaders from medicine, nursing, social work, ethics and health administration — focused on innovative programs that respect patient goals and preferences, provide comprehensive care, acknowledge and address the family or caregivers’ concerns and needs and build systems and mechanisms of support to continue the program for future patients and caregivers.

For the past 13 years, the Circle of Life Awards have celebrated programs across the nation that have made great strides in palliative and end-of-life care. The 2012 awards are supported, in part, by the California HealthCare Foundation, based in Oakland, Calif., and the Archstone Foundation. Major sponsors are the American Hospital Association, the Catholic Health Association, and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization & National Hospice Foundation. 

About Sharp HospiceCare
Caring for patients since 1992, Sharp HospiceCare is a not-for-profit, Medicare-certified organization, dedicated to providing comprehensive care and compassionate support for patients and their families facing a life-limiting illness. Sharp HospiceCare is accredited by the Joint Commission (JCAHO), and is affiliated with the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association (CHAPCA) and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO).

About Sharp HealthCare
Selected as one of 32 Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and a 2007 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient, Sharp HealthCare is San Diego's most comprehensive health care delivery system. It is recognized for clinical excellence for services in cardiac, cancer and multiorgan transplantation, as well as orthopedics, rehabilitation, behavioral health and women's health.

Sharp HealthCare has been widely acclaimed for its commitment to transform the health care experience for patients, physicians and staff through an organization-wide performance improvement initiative called The Sharp Experience. The Sharp system includes four acute-care hospitals, three specialty hospitals, two affiliated medical groups and a health plan.