American Pain Society announces recipients of Clinical Centers of Excellence Awa

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American Pain Society announces recipients of Clinical Centers of

Excellence Awards

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-04/aps-aps041008.php

6 awardess honored for achievement in multidisciplinary pain care

The American Pain Society (APS), www.ampainsoc.org, today announced

the recipients of its second annual Clinical Centers of Excellence in

Pain Management Awards recognizing the nation's outstanding pain care

centers. Six multidisciplinary pain programs were recognized. They

are:

Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Barrett Pain Management

Center, Lebanon, NH

Pediatric Pain Management Center at Oregon Health & Science

University, Portland

Productive Rehabilitation Institute of Dallas for Ergonomics (PRIDE)

Stanford Pain Center, Palo Alto

University of Minnesota Fairview Pain and Palliative Care Center,

Minneapolis

UW Health Pain Care Services, Madison, Wis.

Forty-nine applications were judged by a panel of prominent pain

management experts. APS established the program in 2006 to recognize

progressive teams of health professionals who address critical,

sometimes unmet, needs in pain management within their communities.

Multidisciplinary programs in the U.S. offering direct patient care

in pain management are eligible to apply. Award recipients will be

honored at a gala on May 8 at the APS Annual Scientific Conference in

Tampa.

" In our second year, the Clinical Centers Excellence Awards drew

applicants from every part of the country with excellent performance

in relieving suffering and restoring everyday function to those who

lives are burdened with persistent pain, " said APS President Judith

Paice, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., director, cancer pain program,

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. " We were

impressed by the quality of the submitted programs. As a pain care

professional, I'm deeply gratified to see such outstanding outcomes

being achieved by multidisciplinary pain care teams nationwide. "

Paice added that the Clinical Centers of Excellence Awards also

support the ongoing advocacy mission of APS for multidisciplinary

pain care. " The awards honor pain care teams for delivering optimal

and exemplary care for those with myriad chronic-pain disorders, post-

surgical pain, trauma-induced pain and pain from cancer and other

life-threatening conditions, " Paice added.

A recurring quality of leading pain programs, according to Paice, is

success in helping patients enhance overall function and quality of

life. " Combining cognitive-behavioral and physical therapies with

medications and other approaches is the major advantage of the

multidisciplinary approach. We treat the whole person, not just the

pain. The award recipients and other centers are proving every day

that integrated, multidisciplinary pain care yields the best long-

term outcomes ¡V medically, psychologically and socially, " she said.

Among the achievements of CCOE recipients recognized by APS, include:

Creation and maintenance of a huge pain patient data base, derived

from client surveys, which allows doctors to follow the progress of

individual patients or groups over time. The database was

instrumental in landing a $10 million grant to build a palliative

care facility. (Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center)

A strong mix of medical and behavioral care and physical

rehabilitation services to help children with chronic pain go back to

school and resume their lives. (Oregon Health & Science University)

The nation's leading pain program focused on occupation health with

an 85- 90 percent success rate from aggressive physical

rehabilitation that enables patients to go back to work. (PRIDE)

An strong emphasis on translational research in which outcomes

achieved in treating the most challenging pain patients help faculty

advance scientific knowledge about pain and develop new research

initiatives, (Stanford Pain Center)

An innovative medication management program that helps patients

reduce their doses of pain medications by resolving anxiety and fears

about lowering medication use. (Fairview Pain and Palliative Care

Center)

An aggressive continuous improvement and quality management program

that constantly measures patient satisfaction, safety and outcomes to

provide high quality care based on science and compassion. (UW Health)