Round-up: Awards, Fellowships, and Grants in the News

• Caring Today announced the grand prize winner of it's 2009 "Give a Caregiver a Break" essay contest. Winner Bob Goepfert, of Ballston Lake, NY, writes a beautiful essay about caring for his wife, Carole, who has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
  

• James A. Block, M.D., received the 2009 American Cancer Society Pathfinder in Palliative Care Award. The award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated innovation and ingenuity in their contributions to the advancement of the field of palliative care.
  

• The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine announced that Timothy E. Quill will receive the Palliative Medicine Community Leadership Award at their annual meeting in March.
  

• The International Palliative Care Leadership Development Initiative, selected 22 palliative care physicians practicing in resource-limited countries to participate in a two-year program to develop their leadership skills.

• A new palliative medicine fellowship has begun in Washington state, part of cooperative effort between Providence Hospice of Seattle and the University of Washington School of Medicine.
  

• The Regence Foundation announced a new palliative care grantmaking program in Idaho, Oregon, Utah and Washington, called Sojourns. The program will foster best practices, leadership and collaboration that help people with life-limiting and incurable illnesses access palliative care in their own community.