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Washington, DC, October 2, 2007—Michelle Grant Ervin, MD, of Washington, medical director for VITAS Innovative Hospice Care® of Greater Washington, has been certified by the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (ABHPM). This distinction places Dr. Grant Ervin among an elite group of physicians who have met the highest clinical and academic standards of the hospice and palliative medicine specialty. Dr. Grant Ervin has been medical director for VITAS Innovative Hospice Care® of Greater Washington since 2006. She is board certified in internal medicine and emergency medicine.
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 medical director, Dr. Grant Ervin provides and oversees palliative care and symptom management for terminally ill patients in the greater Washington, DC area and educates healthcare professionals and physicians on the benefits of hospice care. “In my practice of emergency medicine, I’ve seen so many patients in emergency rooms – our nation’s safety net – at the end of life. It really sparked my interest in seeking to practice and gain expertise in hospice and palliative care medicine,” says Dr. Grant Ervin. “Achieving board certification reflects the importance of this specialty in caring for patients at the end of life. It is just as important as everything else in my practice.” Prior to joining VITAS, Dr. Grant Ervin served as chair and residency director of emergency medicine at Howard University Hospital in Washington, DC. She is a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians. Dr. Grant Ervin received her medical degree from the Abraham Lincoln School of Medicine at the University of Illinois. She completed a residency program at Cook County Hospital, Chicago, Illinois. She also holds a master’s degree in health professions education from the University of Illinois. She was awarded a fellowship in bioethics at the MacLean Center for Bioethics at the University of Chicago and a faculty scholar appointment with the Project on Death in America by the Open Society Institute. She has served on advisory boards for Iona Senior Services in Washington, DC, and the Center to Advance Palliative Care Studies at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. She is president of the national advisory board for the Alliance of State Pain Initiatives (ASPI). |
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