Improving health care for people living with serious illness

There are at least 13 million adults and approximately 700,000 children living with a serious illness in the United States. While significant progress has been made to advance palliative care access and delivery, there are still many parts of the U.S. where such holistic care is not well-integrated or supported—resulting in unnecessary suffering, avoidable expenses, overwhelmed caregivers, and clinician burnout

We are thrilled to reflect on the success of the inaugural Serious Illness Care Education Forum, which has made significant strides in its first year! The forum featured four engaging sessions hosted by a Massachusetts medical school. 

In May 2024, the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) held its annual conference in Boston! Our very own Carine Davila, with several other colleagues, hosted a standing-room-only workshop called “Best Practices in Serious Illness Communication for Patients from Historically Marginalized Backgrounds.”