The Schwartz Center Compassionate Caregiver Award

Click here to read about the first 10 Schwartz Center Compassionate Caregiver Awardees, 1999-2008

2009 Nominations are now closed.

For more information and the online form, click here.

Thank you to AstraZeneca, a leading pharmaceutical company, for its support of the Compassionate Caregiver Award.

About The Schwartz Center Compassionate Caregiver Award
The award was established in 1999 as a way to honor those Massachusetts caregivers who display extraordinary compassion in caring for patients and their families. A statewide Review Committee created by the Schwartz Center is seeking nominations for the 2009 award. One winner and four finalists will be recognized at the Schwartz Center’s annual dinner on November 19, 2009 in Boston.

The winner will receive a $5,000 monetary prize, and the finalists will receive $1,000 each.

To view a moving video about The Schwartz Center Compassionate Caregiver Award program, please click on the link below.

Who Qualifies?
The award recognizes those who serve as models of commitment to compassionate care. Any paid, employed caregiver, or team of caregivers, who has direct contact
with patients in any setting where patients receive care in the state of Massachusetts is eligible.

The nominee must embody the following characteristics:

	communicates sensitively with the patient and the patient’s loved ones, listening carefully, showing empathy and instilling a sense of hope;
	respects the patient’s values, culture, choices and decisions; and
	understands the significance of the patient’s family and community.

The Schwartz Center encourages the nomination of candidates from diverse types of institutions including long-term care facilities, community health centers, outpatient clinics, hospices, visiting nurse associations and hospitals. The Center also encourages nominations that represent the broad racial and ethnic diversity of caregivers throughout Massachusetts.

As a result of a new policy, the Schwartz Center will not accept nominations of caregivers who work at the same institution as the 2008 awardee. This policy is to ensure that the award process recognizes the widest possible range of healthcare organizations that employ compassionate caregivers. Specifically, the 2008 awardee, Cynthia French, is a nurse practitioner at UMass Memorial Medical Center. For 2009, we will not accept nominations from UMass Memorial Medical Center. If there is someone you would like to nominate from UMass Memorial Medical Center, please do so in 2010.

Please view the film "Someone Who Cares: Three Portraits," an overview of the Award.
High (DSL/CABLE)

Viewing this video required Windows Media Player 9.0 or higher. To download the latest version, click here to go to Windows Media Player Download site.

How to Submit a Nomination
Consider thoroughly whether the person you wish to nominate meets the criteria of a compassionate caregiver as defined above. Complete the online form or print out a form (PDF) and mail to the following address or fax number by May 1, 2009.

The Schwartz Center
Award Review Committee
205 Portland Street, 6th Floor
Boston, MA 02114

fax: (617) 643-6123