Honoring Compassion

I like it when Schwartz Center Rounds sites are inspired by our example. For a number of years, Emerson Hospital in Concord, MA, has hosted a compassionate caregiver award, modeled after our annual Schwartz Center Compassionate Caregiver Award.

Charles Keevil, MD (r) and his wife Hannah with colleague Lynn Wiegel, MD

This year’s winner of the hospital’s Terry Croteau Compassionate Care Award is internist Charles Keevil, MD, 87, who was honored for delivering compassionate and personalized care throughout his 54-year career.

“Day in, day out, for decades, Dr. Keevil has bestowed compassionate care to countless patients, getting to know their children and families and becoming part of the fabric of their lives,” said Jon DuBois, MD, physician leader of Emerson’s Schwartz Center Rounds. “Especially in this era of electronics and technology, we hope we will always have caregivers such as Dr. Keevil, who go beyond the call of duty.”

Thanks to healthcare reform, patient satisfaction is becoming a larger part of how clinicians are evaluated and compensated. And with that shift, I believe, will come a greater emphasis on compassionate care. Awards like the Schwartz Center’s and Emerson’s are terrific ways of encouraging the patient-centered care Dr. Keevil personifies.