About Center for Ethics in Health Care

OHSU’s Center for Ethics in Health Care was founded in 1989 with a clear and compelling purpose: to bring justice, compassion, and respect to every aspect of health care in our community.

The scope of the Center’s work has expanded far beyond the early dreams of its founders, to include:

Innovative education programs for current and future generations of health care professionals throughout the state
A leading national role in transforming care at the end of life, in particular through the development of the ground-breaking Portable Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) program which is now available in most states nationwide as well as a number of other countries
Policy change to address pressing issues such as conflict of interest and access to health care
Research to support important health care reform

Always, at the heart of the Center’s work, is the paramount importance of honoring the needs and dignity of patients and their families.

Founders

The OHSU Center for Ethics in Health Care was established in 1989 to address these pressing concerns by seeking solutions through collaboration, scholarly debate, and research among many disciplines. The Center for Ethics in Health Care strives to promote more careful attention to the rights and dignity of individual patients and to increase the participation of health care professionals in this society's search for just and prudent health policies. With new world leaders and continued advancement in technology, each new piece of legislation - can bring a fresh barrage of ethical dilemmas for health professionals and society at large.

The Center for Ethics in Health Care founders board hangs near the entrance in Multnomah Pavilion lists the major donors that helped begin the journey for Center.

The board carries the message, "Together we are wiser than any one of us alone."
Center for Ethics Founder's List

Endowed Chairs

(left to right) Susan Tolle, M.D. and Cornie Hayes Stevens

Cornelia Hayes Stevens Chair

Cornie Stevens has been described as "a visionary and guiding light" and has been an inspirational figure for the Center for Ethics in Health Care almost since its inception. Her prodigious energy, discerning vision and steadfast commitment to her community have infused her important role in building the Center. The Cornelia Hayes Stevens Chair is a fitting tribute to this exuberant champion of the Center's work, whose unassuming modesty has been consistently contradicted by her impassioned leadership and selfless devotion.

Madeline Brill Nelson Chair in Ethics Education

Inspired by the legacy of her father, Isidor C. Brill, M.D., and fueled by her own passionate determination to make the world a better place, Madeline Brill Nelson is one of the Center's most generous and devoted supporters. She was the first donor to step forward when the Center for Ethics in Health Care was founded and served as a quiet pioneer in her support of the Center's work. The Madeline Brill Nelson Chair in Ethics Education is an eloquent tribute to her father's extraordinary service to medicine, created to ensure that future generations of health care professionals aspire to the same highest principles of compassionate care.
Read more about the background of the Madeline Brill Nelson Chair in Ethics Education.

Miles J. Edwards Chair in Professionalism and Comfort Care

Distinguished doctor, devoted ethicist, wise and caring mentor, faithful friend, gifted teacher and above all, honorable and compassionate humanitarian. These are the themes that recur again and again as family, colleagues, friends and a multitude of admirers have reflected on the life and accomplishments of Miles Edwards. Dr. Edwards worked quietly, often behind the scenes, nurturing each individual relationship with student, patient, or colleagues with his unfailing blend of patience, compassion and respect.

Shortly before his death, Miles reflected on the role of the physician. He spoke of the need for a “deep understanding of the patient’s experience and each person’s unique value as a human being”. He also as the importance of “having respect for the patient’s self-respect.” These were deeply held and abiding principles for him. They guided his practice of medicine, fueled his passion for research and medical ethics, and they inspired his role as mentor and teacher. When asked how he wanted to spend his remaining days, he simply said that he would like to continue teaching. And he did. Not surprisingly, some of his greatest teaching moments came through his own last illness. He taught us not just through his discerning intelligence and insightful observations, but also through the remarkable courage, unfaltering honesty and graceful dignity with which he faced his own vulnerability and death.

Doris and Mark Storms Chair in Compassionate Communication

Made possible through the commitment of the Storms Family Foundation to honor Doris and Mark Storms’ inspiring legacy of hard work and quiet generosity, this remarkable investment is dedicated to ensuring that all individuals and families are treated with utmost respect and deep compassion in the health care setting.
“As a family, unfortunately we have had experiences with medical care that was neither compassionate nor respectful. It has been a driving force for us to find ways to change this,” said Suzanne Storms Millis Berselli, president of the Storms Family Foundation.
“Giving was an essential part of who our parents were, and they believed that everyone should be treated humanely and with dignity. They would have wholeheartedly supported this investment in the Center’s work, and we are delighted to honor them and the values they held so deeply with this gift.”
Cliff Coleman, MD, MPH, will join the Center for Ethics in Health Care on July 1, 2021, as the inaugural Doris and Mark Storms Chair in Compassionate Communication.