Pierce & Mandell, P.C. is proud to be a sponsor law firm for the Annual Schwartz Center Health Policy Breakfast, to be held on Friday, April 4. This year’s program will focus on the Schwartz Center's Call to Action, which outlines seven guiding commitments to create a more compassionate healthcare system. Peter Slavin, MD, CEO of MGH; Sandra Fenwick, CEO of Boston Children’s Hospital; and Kevin Tabb, MD, CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, will comment on the Commitment to Compassionate Healthcare Leadership.
 
The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare, named after Boston healthcare attorney and patient compassion advocate, Ken Schwartz. Ken was an excellent health lawyer and a wonderful person who left us tragically way too early. His family, friends and colleagues have established a fitting and enduring organization in his honor. The Schwartz Center is a nationwide non-profit organization with a long and respected history of providing patient-centered, compassionate care while striving to strengthen the relationships between patients and providers.  

In 1995 Ken wrote about his experience as a cancer patient in an article for the Boston Globe Magazine entitled “A Patient’s Story.”  In it, he cited how doctors and nurses can make “the unbearable bearable” for patients with “the smallest acts of kindness.” This article was a source of strength and solidarity for my late father who was undergoing cancer treatment at that time.

Please take a moment to learn about the history and remarkable work of The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Care and we encourage all of you who care about improving the training and resources available for compassionate care to support the Schwartz Center.