Amy Berman testifies before the Senate Special Committee on Aging. When I was first diagnosed with end stage cancer, I wanted to find a way to use my experience of care to inform people, families, health care providers, and policymakers about the attributes of good care for the seriously…
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From right, Amy Berman, John A. Hartford Foundation President Terry Fulmer, Jon Broyles of C-TAC, and Bud Hammes of Respecting Choices engage in a convening held in June 2015 by JAHF on "End of Life and Serious Illness." The John A. Hartford Foundation’s dedicated staff is constantly monitoring the…
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Amy Berman, on a recent trip to Hawaii. "I have done so much more than survive. I have thrived." The end of October marked five years since I was diagnosed with stage IV inflammatory breast cancer, a life-limiting disease. A small fraction of people (11-20 percent) in my situation…
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Click image to view or download a PDF of the state-by-state report. In health care, as in so much of life, where you live matters. Understanding geographic variation in health care has long been a useful tool for targeting our attention and making improvements where we need them most…
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Amy Berman prepares for her single, larger dose of image-guided radiation therapy. Editor’s Note: The following open letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, written by Senior Program Officer Amy Berman, was originally published by the Washington Post on Sept. 28, 2015. To read the article on…
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From right, JAHF's Amy Berman and Terry Fulmer, Jon Broyles of C-TAC, and Bud Hammes of Respecting Choices engage in the convening. Imagine Shirley, an 84-year-old woman with end stage renal failure. Her clinician has proposed continuing a daily dialysis treatment that will extend her life, but that is…
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Amy Berman prepares for her image guided radiation therapy. I live with stage IV cancer—cancer that has spread to the far reaches of my body, an incurable disease, a terminal diagnosis. But if you saw me—if our carts randomly bumped into each other in the supermarket—you would never think…
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Funders share information on investments in palliative care at the recent convening spearheaded by the Hartford Foundation. Palliative care is an essential component of care for the seriously ill. Yet, the term is often misunderstood by policymakers, the public, health care providers, and, no surprise, even those in philanthropy…
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Diane E. Meier, MD Editor's Note: For almost eight years, the John A. Hartford Foundation has partnered with Diane Meier, MD, to increase awareness of palliative care and make it more widely accessible. In March, the Foundation’s Board of Trustees renewed our support for the Center to Advance Palliative…
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Amy Berman speaks at TEDMED's Great Challenges in Health Care in 2013. Editor's Note: In this post, originally published on Health Affairs Blog, Amy Berman shares more of her story as a person living with stage IV cancer who has chosen a palliative care approach. She contributes regularly to…
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