FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact:
Kal Mistry, Chief Administrative Officer/Senior Vice President
VITAS Innovative Hospice Care®, 305.350.5990
Megan Carella, APR, Public Relations Editor
VITAS Innovative Hospice Care®, 352.560.3415
Tara Friedman, MD, Earns Fellowship Status
in American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 14, 2010—Tara Friedman, MD, FAAHPM, Senior Medical Director for VITAS Innovative Hospice Care® of Philadelphia, has been named a Fellow by the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM). This distinction places Friedman among an elite group of physicians who have demonstrated significant commitment to scholarship in the field of hospice and palliative medicine.
As senior medical director, Dr. Friedman provides and oversees hospice care and symptom management for patients in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties, and educates healthcare professionals and physicians on the benefits of hospice care. She also serves as associate national medical director of VITAS Palliative Care Solutions, which develops palliative care services in VITAS’ 45 programs nationwide.
“Being awarded Fellowship in an Academy is recognition of the commitment a physician has to that particular specialty,” says VITAS Senior Vice President and National Medical Director Joel S. Policzer, MD, FAAHPM. “Dr. Friedman is an expert in pain management, assessing hospice-appropriate patients and ensuring quality care. She is one of the best educators we have among VITAS physicians. She is a compassionate, caring physician who continually goes above and beyond to meet the needs of her patients and families.”
Friedman is board-certified in hospice and palliative medicine and a certified trainer for Educating Physicians on End-of-Life Care (EPEC). She lectures frequently on pain management, breaking bad news, clinical appropriateness for hospice care and ethical issues in end-of-life care.
A diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine, Friedman earned a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, and a medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York City. Following an internship and residency in internal medicine at Mount Sinai Medical School in New York City, Friedman completed a fellowship in palliative care in the division of hematology/oncology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
She is a member of the American Medical Association and the American Association of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She has been appointed to the prestigious VITAS Leadership Council three times.
VITAS Innovative Hospice Care®, a pioneer and leader in the hospice movement since 1978, is one of the nation’s largest providers of end-of-life care. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, VITAS (pronounced VEE-tahs) operates 45 hospice programs in 16 states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin). VITAS employs 9,702 professionals who care for terminally ill patients daily, primarily in the patients’ homes, but also in the company’s 30 inpatient hospice units as well as in hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living communities/residential care facilities for the elderly. At the conclusion of the Fourth quarter of 2009, VITAS reported an average daily census of 12,322. Visit www.vitas.com.
Listed on the New York Stock Exchange and headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) operates two wholly owned subsidiaries: VITAS Healthcare and Roto-Rooter.
Photo: Tara Friedman, MD, FAAHPM
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