Malathi Balasundaram, MD
Neonatal Intensivist, El Camino Health <br> Clinical Professor, Stanford School of Medicine <br> Founder and Executive Director, Family-Centered Care Taskforce <br> Palo Alto, California
31st Annual
Kenneth B. Schwartz
Compassionate Healthcare Dinner
Local Roots. Global Reach.
Tuesday, October 27, 2026 • The Westin Boston Seaport
425 Summer Street, Boston, MA
Dear Friends,
<p>Welcome to our 31st Annual Kenneth B. Schwartz Compassionate Healthcare Dinner. Thank you for generously supporting our mission and for joining us tonight.</p>
<p>Tonight’s theme — <strong>Local Roots, Global Reach</strong> — captures our story: an organization born from one family’s healthcare experience, now bringing compassionate care to healthcare teams and patients around the world.</p>
<p>That story starts close to home. Our roots remain in the Schwartz Rounds® program, which continues to sustain healthcare teams here in Boston — like the team at The Boston Home, who will share their story tonight. Yet our reach now extends far beyond our own community, with more than 250 partner sites outside of the U.S.</p>
<p>You can see that reach as we honor the 2026 recipients of our Schwartz Compassionate Caregiver Award. This year’s recipients come from California, Texas, and Belfast, Northern Ireland, and their work shows us what’s possible when clinical excellence meets genuine human connection. It is a reminder that compassion is compassion, no matter where you are in the world.</p>
<p>Your support makes all of this work possible. It funds the programs that help caregivers stay connected to their empathy and ensures that patients receive the compassionate care they deserve, both locally and beyond. Every dollar raised tonight transforms healthcare delivery, turning our global vision into a tangible reality for patients, families, and care teams everywhere.</p>
<p>As Ken Schwartz wrote 31 years ago, “Each one of us wants not simply the best possible care for our body but for our whole being.” That truth doesn’t change with geography.</p>
<p>We’re grateful for champions like you, standing with us as we carry Ken’s vision further than ever before.</p>
Michael Gustafson, MD, MBA
CEO, The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare
Robyn Begley
Former Chief Executive Officer, AONL
Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, AHA
Ellen R. Cohen
Founder, Schwartz Center Board
Support our Cause
Support the Schwartz Center
<p class="max-w-3xl font-cabin text-base leading-relaxed text-[#333333] md:text-lg md:leading-[1.6]">Your generosity helps sustain vital programs that strengthen the well-being of healthcare professionals — so they can be there for their patients when it matters most.</p>
Please Give Today
An Evening Together
2026 Dinner Program
WELCOME
ANDY SAKS
Emcee
ABOUT THE SCHWARTZ CENTER
MICHAEL GUSTAFSON, MD, MBA
CEO, The Schwartz Center
THE PATIENT I'LL NEVER FORGET
2026 SCHWARTZ COMPASSIONATE CAREGIVER AWARD RECIPIENTS
Gerard Duffy
Community Nurse for the Homeless <br> Belfast Health and Social Care Trust <br> Belfast, Northern Ireland
Tyler Jorgensen, MD
Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine <br> Assistant Program Director, Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship <br> Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin <br> Austin, Texas
CELEBRATING THE AWARD RECIPIENTS
MARK REYNOLDS
CRICO
THE IMPACT OF THE SCHWARTZ ROUNDS PROGRAM
VICTORIA STEVENS and NAN RUBIN
The Boston Home
THE COMPASSION APPEAL
ANDY SAKS
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
MAUREEN BISOGNANO
President Emerita and Senior Fellow, Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)
CLOSING
ANDY SAKS
Emcee
Generous Contributions
Leadership & Donor List
<p class="max-w-3xl font-cabin text-base leading-relaxed text-[#333333] md:text-lg md:leading-[1.6] text-dinner-soft text-center mx-auto">We gratefully acknowledge the extraordinary commitment of our sponsors and donors.</p>
Event Committee
ROBYN BEGLEY, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, Former Chief Executive Officer, AONL; Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, AHA
JOSHUA BOGER, PHD,
ELLEN R. COHEN, MSW, Founder, Schwartz Center Board
WENDY K. COHEN, LICSW
ETHAN CRAIN, Co-Lead, U.S. Healthcare Practice, Lockton
WILLIAM T. CURRY, JR., MD, Chief Medical Officer, Academic Medical Center, Mass General Brigham
JAMES C. DE VELLIS, Partner, Foley & Lardner, LLP
MISHELE AND ROBERT FIELDS, MD, Executive Vice President & Chief Clinical Officer, Beth Israel Lahey Health
MATTHEW FISHMAN,
MELISSA A. FITZPATRICK, MSN, RN, FAAN, President, Kirby Bates Associates
GRAHAM GARDNER, MD, MBA, Founder and Former Chief Executive Officer, Kyruus Health
MATT GERMAK MD, MPH, Vice President of Patient Safety, CRICO
ELIZABETH L.B. GREENE, Partner, Mirick
BRENT L. HENRY, Member, Mintz
ED KEOHANE, Founder and CEO, Babywell MD
MICHELE KLAU, RNCS, The Danielsen Institute at Boston University
SARAH LUKAS, Former Partner, Edelstein & Co., LLP
SHARON MCNALLY, CEO, Camp Harbor View Foundation
ANN MUSCHETT AND MICHAEL L. BLAU, Former Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP
REENA L. PANDE, MD, Partner, Oxeon
PARESH PUROHIT, Vice President, Marsh MMA
SCOTT QUINT AND MICHAEL GUSTAFSON, MD, MBA, CEO, The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare
JEAN-PAUL A. REBILLARD, Executive Vice President, MedPro Group
JAY SHILAND, Partner, MTS Health Partners LP
COLETTE AND DAN STANZLER, Partner/Portfolio Manager
MARJORIE AND PAUL STANZLER
ELIZABETH VERNAGLIA, PHD, AND LAWRENCE VERNAGLIA, Partner, Foley and Lardner LLP
Keynote Speaker
Maureen Bisognano
Recipient, Schwartz Compassion Champion Award
<p class="max-w-2xl font-cabin text-base leading-relaxed text-dinner-soft md:text-lg md:leading-[1.6]">President Emerita and Senior Fellow, Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)</p>
Schwartz Compassionate Caregiver Award
2026 Recipients
Since 1999, the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare has honored extraordinary healthcare professionals from across the country who embody the characteristics of compassionate care and whose professional achievements have helped to create healing healthcare environments for patients, families, colleagues, and communities.
The Schwartz Center is grateful to CRICO for its generous support of the Schwartz Compassionate Caregiver Award. For close to 50 years, CRICO has provided industry-leading medical professional liability coverage, claims management, and patient safety resources to all of the Harvard medical institutions and their affiliates, and is a recognized leader in evidence-based risk management.
Malathi Balasundaram, MD
Neonatal Intensivist, El Camino Health <br> Clinical Professor, Stanford School of Medicine <br> Founder and Executive Director, Family-Centered Care Taskforce <br> Palo Alto, California
Gerard Duffy
Community Nurse for the Homeless <br> Belfast Health and Social Care Trust <br> Belfast, Northern Ireland
Tyler Jorgensen, MD
Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine <br> Assistant Program Director, Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship <br> Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin <br> Austin, Texas
The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare
What We Do
<p class="max-w-[800px] font-cabin text-base leading-relaxed text-dinner-soft md:text-lg md:leading-[1.6]">Our Mission is to partner with healthcare organizations to advance compassion for patients, care teams, and their healing relationships.</p>
<p class="max-w-[800px] font-cabin text-base leading-relaxed text-dinner-soft md:text-lg md:leading-[1.6]">Our Vision is to be a global leader in championing compassion for all who seek and provide healthcare.</p>
Learn More
Kenneth B. Schwartz
History
The Schwartz Center reflects the vision of Ken Schwartz, a Boston healthcare attorney who died of lung cancer at age 40 and found that what mattered to him most was the human connection he felt with his caregivers, which he said made “the unbearable bearable.” He established the Schwartz Center in 1995 – just days before his death – to ensure that all patients and families are treated with compassion.
Remembering Our Friend
In Memoriam
Clare Midgley
Extended Gratitude
