For the past 25 years, the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare has drawn on the profound experience and vision of our founder, Ken Schwartz, to build a community of compassion for hundreds of thousands of caregivers, patients and their families.
Our mission is simple, yet powerful: to put compassion at the heart of healthcare through programs, education and advocacy.
Over the past year, we executed on this mission in important ways. We finalized new compassion-based programs that will strengthen the patient-caregiver relationship. We convened our second Compassion in Action Healthcare Conference and attracted healthcare leaders, front-line clinicians and other stakeholders from across the U.S. and around the world. We celebrated together at the annual Kenneth B. Schwartz Compassionate Healthcare Dinner and recognized 21 years of National Compassionate Caregiver of the Year® awardees.
As we enter our 25th year, we’re excited to launch our three-year strategic plan that will bring the organization to a new level by expanding our programs, diversifying revenue, and advancing our thought leadership. We’re especially looking forward to welcoming you to our 25th anniversary dinner on December 3.
The Schwartz Center’s positive impact on caregivers and patients would not be possible without the unwavering support of our donors. I am grateful for your confidence in our work, and I hope you will continue to join us as we work toward fulfilling our vision of a world where all who seek and provide healthcare experience compassion.
Matt Herndon, Schwartz Center CEO
Our vision is a world where all who seek and provide healthcare experience compassion.
of the attendees at our 2019 Conference said they would make changes in their clinical, teaching, research or other work as a result of attending.
of caregivers who attended multiple Schwartz Rounds® reported better communication with their co-workers.
of caregivers who attended multiple Schwartz Rounds reported feeling more compassionate toward patients and families.
of our participants said that they would recommend our Compassion in Action Webinars to a colleague.
Through our Healthcare Membership Program, we provide access to programs, educational opportunities and resources that enable healthcare organizations to create and sustain cultures of compassion.
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caregivers nominated for the National Compassionate Caregiver of the Year (NCCY) Award since 1999.
Since 1999, the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare has honored outstanding healthcare professionals who display extraordinary devotion and compassion in caring for patients and families. Each year, the award recipient and five finalists are honored before an audience of 1,200 caregivers and healthcare executives at the Annual Kenneth B. Schwartz Compassionate Healthcare Dinner in Boston.
Justin rarely misses an opportunity to tell me and other bereaved parents that our children have changed him and that he learns from them every day.
She was our light, our map, and ultimately our angel, who gave us gifts, that to this day, we treasure and are eternally grateful for.
The emotional support she gave was beyond measure. Elizabeth always made us feel like we were the only family she was there to take care of.
Judy ensures that the patient knows that they are safe and in a place where they matter and their care is of utmost importance.
Dr. Maurasse opens her heart to the most complicated, challenging, and often self-destructive patients.
Kari is not just her patient’s doctor; she is their friend, advocate and sounding board. To say that her patients love her does not do justice to their relationship.
Adopted our Schwartz Rounds Program in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, Australia and New Zealand
caregivers recognized through our Honor Your Caregiver program since 2008.
At our recent annual dinner, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker presented the 2019 National Compassionate Caregiver of the Year Award to Sophia L. Maurasse, MD. Dr. Maurasse is a clinical psychologist and director of child and adolescent psychiatry and psychology at McLean Hospital who has devoted herself to providing the highest quality, empathic healthcare to some of the most at-risk kids, for more than three decades.
people attended our events, workshops and webinars in 2019.
How can caregivers most effectively engage patients and each other to improve the quality of care and achieve better outcomes?
Learn more about our Compassion in Action Webinars on topics related to compassionate, collaborative care from leading practitioners and researchers in this field. Participants learn concepts and skills that are essential to providing compassionate, collaborative care in ways that matter to patients, to families and to themselves.
Learn MoreIn Fiscal Year 2019, 78% of all spending was directed toward mission-specific programming (the outer circle). Core mission support (fundraising and administration) represents the remainder. This graphic illustrates how each of our programs is built around and relies upon this core support, which helps ensure the growth and impact of our mission.
Our program investments for Fiscal Year 2019 resulted in a planned deficit of $0.2M.
The Poorvu family, including Lia and her daughter, Alison Poorvu Jaffe, are perfect examples of the Schwartz Center’s “Champions of Compassion”—loyal donors who have been giving to help us advance compassionate healthcare for more than half of our years. In their case, Lia and Alison have thoughtfully supported our mission since our founding in 1995.
The Poorvu family, including Lia and her daughter, Alison Poorvu Jaffe, are perfect examples of the Schwartz Center’s “Champions of Compassion”—loyal donors who have been giving to help us advance compassionate healthcare for more than half of our years. In their case, Lia and Alison have thoughtfully supported our mission since our founding in 1995.
In late 2019, they were inspired to make a meaningful gift in support of the launch of our newest program, Unit-Based Schwartz Rounds (UBSR). UBSR is designed to bring the proven benefits of the traditional Schwartz Rounds® model directly to the point of care (such as individual departments or patient units) in a shortened format and at any time of day.
UBSR is the latest adaptation of our flagship program, Schwartz Rounds, since its inception nearly 25 years ago. The Rounds program provides an interdisciplinary forum where caregivers from throughout a hospital or other healthcare organization come together on a regular basis—usually for one hour over breakfast or lunch—to discuss the psychosocial and emotional aspects of caring for patients.
The need for Schwartz Rounds is greater now than ever before. Patient care is increasingly complex and fast-paced, staffing and resources are stretched by budgetary constraints, and burnout among providers is climbing. We know that Schwartz Rounds are sustaining for those who attend the sessions, but our recent research suggests that some healthcare staff at our member organizations can’t find the time or coverage to participate in the traditional model—whether because they work a different shift or simply can’t leave the patient bedside. Healthcare leaders have been asking for ways to bring the Rounds program to these teams, and UBSR will do just that: deliver Schwartz Rounds support to the point of care at the time of need.
Thanks to the support of donors, Schwartz Center staff have been able to spend the past two years developing and testing this new program model. We are very grateful for the Poorvus’ gift, which is supporting the launch and dissemination of the program throughout 2020. As Alison explained, “As a trustee at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, I recognized how beneficial it would be to extend the Schwartz Rounds into the units whose staff’s real-time schedules might prevent them from being able to participate in the traditional Rounds program. But they would greatly benefit from the support of having the Rounds on their unit and for their team. Our family is proud to support this effort.”
The Poorvus hope that their giving inspires others to learn more about this work and be motivated to support it. To learn more about the program, please visit theschwartzcenter.org\programs\unit-based-schwartz-rounds
If you would like to help support its dissemination, please contact Lisa Crane at lmcrane@theschwartzcenter.org or 617-643-5490.
It is a painful reality that incidents of terrorism and other acts of mass violence are on the rise. When these tragedies occur, healthcare providers are called on to extend their greatest skills and most heroic efforts to treat, heal and save, as well as to console and comfort. In all healthcare settings, putting emotions and feelings aside while caring for patients on the front lines is part of the job, but caregivers are still human, and often react afterward.
It is a painful reality that incidents of terrorism and other acts of mass violence are on the rise. When these tragedies occur, healthcare providers are called on to extend their greatest skills and most heroic efforts to treat, heal and save, as well as to console and comfort. In all healthcare settings, putting emotions and feelings aside while caring for patients on the front lines is part of the job, but caregivers are still human, and often react afterward. Who takes care of them?
To help better support our healthcare workforce in the aftermath of a mass casualty event, the Schwartz Center is conducting research, interviews, and analysis to develop a Trauma Toolkit for hospitals. This toolkit will offer best practices and resources for healthcare leaders about how to effectively support their staff during or after a mass tragedy. There currently is no such resource specifically tailored to the needs of healthcare providers.
Yet we couldn’t do this work without the support of our generous donors, such as Alison. As a former nursing supervisor at a major Boston hospital, Alison understands first hand the need to combat post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, and isolation among providers who care for victims of mass casualties. “It had been part of my job to console the staff after they dealt with the loss of a patient or major trauma. When the Boston Marathon bombing happened in 2013, I thought of the caregivers. I wanted to help them and called the Schwartz Center the next day because I knew the organization would know how to support the caregivers and would come through for them…and they did, marvelously.”
In the year following the Marathon bombing, the Schwartz Center organized a special series of Schwartz Rounds® to support the healthcare providers, first responders, and medical tent volunteers who had cared for the bombing victims. Many of the attendees were still dealing with feelings of anxiety, stress, and isolation from the event, even a year later. Several people said they had not received the support they needed from their administration. It became clear that there was a need for a more coordinated, comprehensive approach among healthcare organizations to caring for their staff during and in the aftermath of responding to a mass casualty event. The idea for the Trauma Toolkit was born.
Alison was quick to step up as the first supporter of the toolkit when we launched the work for it. We are incredibly grateful for her vision and generosity. Alison is hoping that her gifts inspire others to support the Schwartz Center’s efforts and, ultimately, support our healthcare providers who are beacons of hope and healing for all of us.
If you would like to help support this effort, please contact Lisa Crane at lmcrane@theschwartzcenter.org or 617-643-5490.
For more information about the trauma toolkit, we invite you to read this article about it published in STAT: https://www.statnews.com/2020/01/03/health-care-providers-unrecognized-victims-mass-killings/
More than 600 professionals, system leaders and others committed to making compassionate healthcare a priority in their organizations and communities gathered at our 2019 Compassion in Action Conference in September, 2019. This year, we plan to roll out new opportunities for our community members to engage with colleagues from across the globe and learn about cutting-edge programs, strategies and tools to create and sustain cultures of compassion. We will soon be sharing more details about new programs that will leave you inspired, equipped with knowledge and skills supported by new partners.
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