Edwards Legacy
Dr. Miles J. Edwards Chair in Professionalism and Comfort Care
Oregon Health & Science University is creating a new faculty position and program aimed at expanding bedside education in palliative care for future generations of health care professionals. The Miles J. Edwards Chair in Professionalism and Comfort Care has been formed to teach health care professionals at all levels of training and across all of the health care disciplines how to provide some of the most important care in a patient's life: comfort care in life's final chapter.
"Palliative care is a method of treating the symptoms of disease when it is not possible to eliminate the cause. For instance, treating pain or shortness of breath in the final days of life," explained Edwards, OHSU emeritus pulmonary physician and ethicist. Prior to his death he stated, "After recently being diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer, I have a deeper insight into the patient's experience than ever before. What I now wish to offer to future generations are the bedside skills to compassionately communicate and more effectively treat the suffering of those with life-threatening illness."
The OHSU Center for Ethics in Health Care has two decades of experience in hosting statewide educational programs for health care professionals from a wide range of disciplines. This chair makes it possible to expand bedside teaching and collaborate in the modeling of best practices in comfort care. To date, we have received gifts in tribute to Dr. Edwards, totaling over $2.3 million to establish the chair. Ultimately, the goal is to raise the necessary $2.5 million to complete funding for the chair. To learn more about the new curriculum, click here.
