CSU Shiley Institute for Palliative Care honors Dr. Gary Buckholz and Dr. Kimberly Bower for advancing palliative care in San Diego County
Jan. 10, 2018 (SAN DIEGO) – Two palliative care specialists whose work has significantly transformed care for patients and families in San Diego County have been named the 2017 recipients of the CSU Shiley Institute for Palliative Care’s Doris A. Howell, MD, Award for Advancing Palliative Care.
Gary Buckholz, MD, FAAHPM, a nationally recognized physician/educator and Clinical Professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine, and Kimberly Bower, MD, Chief of Palliative Medicine at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, were presented with the 2nd annual award on Jan. 9 during a ceremony at the Institute’s headquarters at California State University San Marcos.
Buckholz and Bower, who are married, are well-known palliative care champions in San Diego County and beyond. They were nominated separately by colleagues from their respective healthcare organizations who cited their exemplary leadership skills, compassion and commitment to improving care for patients with serious or life-limiting illness.
“It is our delight to be honoring two extraordinary pioneers in palliative care,” said Jennifer Moore Ballentine, Executive Director of the Institute. “Their work has greatly enriched the field, contributed to the careers of many stellar clinicians, and significantly improved care for seriously ill children and adults in our region.”
The award is named after Dr. Howell, a legendary physician and pioneer in pediatric hematology, oncology and community medicine who in 1977 founded San Diego Hospice and the Institute for Palliative Medicine (SDHIPM). A generous donation in Dr. Howell’s honor by philanthropist Darlene Marcos Shiley accompanies the annual award and is bestowed on a local healthcare organization selected by each recipient. This year, the donation will go to UC San Diego Foundation and Rady Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Dr. Buckholz has been a driving force in training physicians in Hospice and Palliative Medicine for more than a decade. He is part of Doris A. Howell Palliative Care Consultation Service at UC San Diego Health, and serves as Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Director for UC San Diego/Scripps Health. He is also the Scripps Hospice Medical Director, and was previously Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship Director at SDHIPM.
Dr. Bower is an expert in pediatric palliative care who helped create the first home-based pediatric palliative program in Southern California. She began her fellowship in Hospice and Palliative Medicine at SDHIPM in 2004, then served as SDHIPM’s chief fellow, with a focus on building skills in pediatric palliative medicine and working on international initiatives. She later became the agency’s Pediatric Medical Director, before joining Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego in March 2013.
This is the second year that two palliative care pioneers have tied for the award. In 2016, the honorees were Daniel R. Hoefer, MD, Chief Medical Officer Outpatient Palliative Care and Associate Medical Director at Sharp HospiceCare; and Suzi K. Johnson, MPH, RN, Vice President at Sharp HealthCare.
About the CSU Shiley Institute for Palliative Care
The UC San Diego Foundation leverages the strength of the CSU system to expand access to and awareness of palliative care by educating current and future health care professionals. The Institute is charged with positively impacting the critical shortage of nurses, physicians, social workers, and spiritual-care providers trained in palliative care, using a groundbreaking educational model that emphasizes a whole-person, patient-centered approach aimed at improving quality of life for people with serious or life-limiting illness.
