THE MAYDAY FUND ANNOUNCES 2013-14 WINNERS OF THE MAYDAY PAIN & SOCIETY FELLOWSHIP

The Mayday Fund today announced the selection of six experts in pain management to be Fellows of The Mayday Pain & Society Fellowship. The new Fellows come from across the United States and Canada, specializing in a wide range of health care disciplines, including neuroscience, primary care, physical and rehabilitation medicine, patient advocacy, and pain policy.  The Fellowship program is in its ninth year, and will continue for one more session in 2014.

The Fellowship provides pain care leaders with skills to advocate for effective pain management. Fellows learn how to better communicate with the media, policymakers and others to raise visibility for their issues.

“The applicant pool was one of the largest and most impressive to date,” said Russell K. Portenoy, MD, Chairman of The Mayday Fellowship Advisory Committee, which selects the Fellows each year.  “The response showed us that researchers, clinicians and advocates are becoming increasingly aware of the need for effective communication about the urgent problem of undertreated pain.  We are confident that this year’s Fellows will bring fresh energy and focus to our program, and will acquire the skills they need to more effectively promote the legitimate needs of patients with pain. More than ever, the patient’s voice must be part of the public and professional discourse about pain-related policy and practice,” added Portenoy, who is also Chairman of the Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care at Beth Israel Medical Center. 

The Fellows will develop skills to advocate and communicate on many of the issues they deal with everyday, including the under-treatment of pain, pain research and treatment, pain education, and policies to improve pain care.

“The Mayday Fund Trustees congratulate and welcome this new class of Fellows,” said Christina M. Spellman, Executive Director of The Mayday Fund.  “We are eager to support such qualified leaders to speak publicly about cutting-edge pain research, education programs, and policy issues impacting pain care.”

The new 2013-2014 Fellows are:

·         Karen D. Davis, PhD, Head & Senior Scientist, Division of Brain, Imaging and Behaviour – Systems Neuroscience, Toronto Western Research Institute; and Professor, Department of Surgery and Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto

·         Bill McCarberg, MD, Adjunct Assistant Clinical Professor, University of California San Diego; Family Medicine Provider, Neighborhood Healthcare; Hospice Provider, Elizabeth Hospice in Escondido, California

·         Brian L. Schmidt, DDS, MD, PhD, Director, Bluestone Center for Clinical Research; Director, New York University Oral Cancer Center; Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery; Professor, Department of Physiology and Neuroscience; and Co-Leader, Epidemiology and Cancer Control, New York University Cancer Institute

·         Steven P. Stanos, DO, Director, Corporate Pain Services, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC); Attending Physician, RIC Center for Pain Management; Associate Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation; Assistant Program Director, Multidisciplinary Pain Fellowship; Department of Anesthesia, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

·         Cindy Steinberg, National Director of Policy and Advocacy, U.S. Pain Foundation

·         Catherine Underwood, MBA, CAE, Chief Executive Officer, American Pain Society

As part of their training, the new Fellows will attend an intensive four-day workshop in Washington, DC in October 2013, and will work closely with media and policy coaches from Burness Communications, a public relations firm that works with non-profit organizations, primarily in health and science.  Fellows will learn how to connect with local and national media, write opinion editorials, and educate Members of Congress and other policymakers about pain care research and treatment. By improving their communications skills, they will be poised to move the field forward by educating and working with the media, policymakers, advocates, health and business leaders, and their own peers.

The Fellowship Advisory Committee selects six winners each year. On the Advisory Committee for the Mayday Pain & Society Fellowship, in addition to  Chair Russell K. Portenoy, MD are: James N. Campbell, MD, Professor Emeritus of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, CEO of Arcion Therapeutics, Inc., and Executive-in-Residence at InterWest Partners; Scott M. Fishman, MD, Chief, Division of Pain Medicine in the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine and Professor of Anesthesiology, University of California, Davis; Kathleen M. Foley, MD, Medical Director of the International Palliative Care Initiative of the Public Health Program, Open Society Institute and Attending Neurologist in the Department of Neurology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Carmen R. Green, MD, Associate Vice President and Associate Dean for Health Equity and Inclusion and Professor of Anesthesiology, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Health Management & Policy,  University of Michigan Health System; Sandra H. Johnson, JD, Professor Emerita of Law and Health Care Ethics, Saint Louis University School of Law; Patrick John McGrath, PhD, Canada Research Chair, Integrated Vice President and  Professor of Psychology, Pediatrics and Psychiatry, IWK Health Centre and Capital District Health Authority in Halifax, Canada; and Lonnie Zeltzer, MD, Director of Pediatric Pain Program and Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics, Anesthesiology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles.

Established in 1992, The Mayday Fund is dedicated to further Shirley Steinman Katzenbach's commitment to social and medical causes. Her special interest in the treatment of pain forms the core of the Fund's mission. Over the last 20 years, Mayday has contributed to many different projects, among them, surveys of public attitudes to pain and its treatment; clinical and academic research; assistance to public and professional advocacy groups; the worldwide documentary film, “Life Before Death,” which raises awareness about the global crisis of untreated and undertreated pain; and most recently, a video to help health care professionals understand the importance of good communication and treatment for pain and palliative care.