Cincinnati, Ohio, August 27, 2007—Douglas R. Smucker, MD, of Wyoming, Ohio, a team physician for VITAS Innovative Hospice Care® of Cincinnati, has been certified by the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (ABHPM). This distinction places Dr. Smucker among a select group of physicians who have met the highest clinical and academic standards of the hospice and palliative medicine specialty.

ABHPM certification is an arduous process that requires a physician to first become board certified in his or her specialty (internal medicine or family medicine, for example). The physician then is expected to meet several clinical experience criteria, and pass a comprehensive written examination.

Dr. Smucker has been a physician for VITAS since 2004. He is also board certified in family medicine, as well as public health and preventive medicine.

As a VITAS physician, Dr. Smucker provides and oversees palliative care and symptom management for homebound terminally ill patients in the Cincinnati area and educates healthcare professionals and physicians on the benefits of hospice care.

“Board certification by the ABHPM gives VITAS patients and families the assurance that I have a level of experience, knowledge and understanding of palliative care that will serve them well as they cope with the symptoms of a terminal illness,” says Dr. Smucker. “Certification and continuing professional education through the ABHPM helps me to be an effective physician member on our team.”

Dr. Smucker is an associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and directs the International Health training program for the Department of Family Medicine.

Dr. Smucker received his Medical Degree from the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo (now know as the University of Toledo College of Medicine) and a Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology from the University of North Carolina. He completed a family practice residency at the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo and a preventive medicine residency at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.