Innovations in End-of-Life Care
an international journal of leaders in end-of-life care

The Circle of Life Award honors innovative programs that have improved the care people receive near the end of their lives, whether in the hospital, hospice, nursing home, or at home in the United States. The award is sponsored by the American Hospital Association (AHA) in conjunction with the American Medical Association, the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. The award is supported by a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The second annual presentation of the Circle of Life Award took place July 31, 2001 at the Health Forum Summit in San Diego, California. To read more about the award, please visit the AHA Circle of Life Award page.

The Palliative CareCenter & Hospice of the North Shore is one of three programs to be honored with the 2001 Circle of Life Award. Click on the name of the institution for a summary of the program drawn from the executive summary and other materials submitted to AHA as part of the application for the award.

• Beth Israel's Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care

• Palliative CareCenter & Hospice of the North Shore

• St. Joseph's Manor, Compassionate Care Focus

The award selection committee also nominated six additional programs to receive Citations of Honor. These honorees come from all parts of the United States. They are:

Visit the AHA website to read short summaries of each of these programs.

With this current issue, Innovations has developed five thematic issues based on the three 2000 and two of the 2001 Circle of Life Award-winning programs (See Archives, Vol. 2, Nos. 3, 4, 5, 2000 and Vol. 3, No. 4, 2001)