Wishard Foundation announces grant for Palliative Care Program

Contact: Todd Harper 
Phone: (317) 630-7808 
Pager: (317) 310-5972

Indianapolis, September 12, 2011 -- The Wishard Foundation announced today that it has received a $500,000 grant from The Glick Fund to aid in the care and comfort of patients who face a life-threatening illness.
The grant from the Glick Fund, a fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation, will be paid out over the course of five years. The funds have helped establish the Marilyn K. Glick Fellowship in Palliative Medicine at Wishard Health Services and Indiana University School of Medicine. The Glick family has continuously been among the leading contributors to humanitarian efforts across the state of Indiana.
Dr. Gregory P. Gramelspacher, director of the Wishard Palliative Care Program and professor of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine, said that the IU School of Medicine Palliative Care Fellowship helps to educate physicians on how to provide exceptional care to the seriously ill patients, molding them to become experts within the field of palliative medicine.
"Prior to starting our program, I witnessed too many patients die in pain, alone or forgotten," said Dr. Gramelspacher. "I learned that it doesn’t have to be that way, even for the dying poor.  We can – we have – made it better.  Our work is a labor of love."
The fellowship program is accredited by the American Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and is one of 73 fellowships nationwide bearing this accreditation. Since its inception in 2005, the IUSM Palliative Medicine Fellowship has educated six physicians in this emerging medical specialty. In addition, Wishard’s Palliative Care program has won national awards, including the Jim Wright Vulnerable Populations Award from the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems in 2005 and the Circle of Life Award from the American Hospital Association in 2009.  
Since its formation 12 years ago, the Wishard Palliative Care Program provides compassion, comfort and quality of life for all patients who face life-threatening illness. The program assists poor and underserved patients who have been diagnosed with serious illnesses and lack the resources to live their remaining life with dignity and respect. The specially trained staff at Wishard helps coordinate complex medical care for patients as they face the physical and psychological challenges associated with their illness.
The Glick Fund's goal is to impact the community in a significant and measurable way, giving to specific areas they feel will benefit most. These areas include educational advancement, art and creative growth, self-sufficiency promotion and the ease of human suffering and helping those in need.
The Wishard Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds and awareness that support health care initiatives benefiting residents of Marion County with special emphasis on its poor and vulnerable populations. The Foundation was established in 1985 as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. To learn more about the Foundation, please visit www.WishardFoundation.org.