Dallas, Texas, August 27, 2007—James Wright, DO, of Arlington, Texas, senior medical director for VITAS Innovative Hospice Care® of Dallas, has been re-certified by the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (ABHPM). This distinction places Dr. Wright among an elite 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 geriatric medicine, for example). The physician then is expected to meet several clinical criteria, including participating directly in the care of at least 50 terminally ill patients. Finally, the physician must pass a comprehensive written examination.

As a VITAS senior medical director, Dr. Wright provides and oversees palliative care and symptom management for terminally ill patients in the Dallas area. Dr. Wright is an advocate and leader in the community for high quality, ethical end-of-life care. Also board certified in family medicine, Dr. Wright first achieved ABHPM certification in 1997.

“By becoming board certified in hospice and palliative medicine, physicians who specialize in the care and management of patients at the end of life provide a higher quality of care to the terminally ill and also often care for patients with the most severe symptoms,” says Dr. Wright. “Highly trained specialists, such as those who are board certified, benefit patients at the end of life by bringing their expertise to patient care and also to the education of the patient care staff.”

Dr. Wright joined VITAS in 1991 as a team physician in the Fort Worth program. He was named medical director in Fort Worth in 1997, later adding the Dallas program to his responsibilities. He was promoted to senior medical director in 2001. He was a recipient of the prestigious VITAS Leadership Council Award in 2005.

Prior to joining VITAS, Dr. Wright had his own private practice, which he established in 1985 after having served 14 years in the U.S. Army as a nurse and, later, as a physician. Dr. Wright earned his medical degree from Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, Missouri. He completed his residency at Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center in Fort Gordon, Georgia.