Vital Decisions LLC Announces the Formation of World Renowned Advanced Illness Program Advisory Board

Vital Decisions LLC, the leading provider of behavior modification counseling programs for individuals experiencing an advanced illness, announced today the formation of the company’s Program Advisory Board, comprised of world leaders in advanced illness medicine, counseling, bioethics, and other specialties important to the company’s advanced illness programs.

Vital Decisions Program Advisory Board is chaired by Helen Blank, PhD, Dr. Blank is a co-founder of Vital Decisions and is one of the country’s leading authorities on the bioethics of advanced illness

“Vital Decisions has assembled an outstanding group of advisors who have a long track record of innovation and expertise. I am honored to be a part of this visionary group. Combining the experience of the company with the perspectives of this group of experts is exciting, and I am confident that the Board will contribute to the continued evolution and enhanced impact of our services” said Dr. Blank.

The board’s esteemed members include:

Susan Butterworth, PhD, MS Dr. Butterworth is an associate professor at the School of Medicine at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland. Her special area of expertise and research is the application of behavior change science into interventions, such as Motivational Interviewing-based health coaching. She was been awarded NIH grants to study the efficacy and impact of health management interventions and has published multiple articles on the theory and outcomes of evidence-based practice.

Kenneth J. Doka, PhD is a Professor of Gerontology at the Graduate School of The College of New Rochelle and Senior Consultant to the Hospice Foundation of America. A prolific author, Dr. Doka’s books include Counseling Individuals with Life-Threatening Illness, Cancer and End-of-Life Care, Diversity and End-of-Life Care, Before and After Death, Death Dying andBereavement and many others. Dr. Doka is editor of both Omega: The Journal of Death and Dying and Journeys: A Newsletter to Help in Bereavement. Ken has served as the President of the Association for Death Education and has keynoted conferences throughout North America as well as Europe.

Pamela J. Kalen, MBA is the vice President for Membership and Member Services at the National Business Group on Health in Washington, D.C. She received her MBA degree in marketing and BA degree from the University of Maryland. Ms.Kalen has over twenty five years of experience in association management corporate health care purchasing issues, integrated delivery, and a focus on practical solutions. Ms. Kalen currently represents the Business Group on NCQA’s Purchaser Advisory Council and served as a member of the Steering Committee for the National Quality Forum’s Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care project charged with recommending measures for assessing and managing EOL symptom relief for acutely-ill patients. Pam also staffs the Palliative Care and End of Life Work Group at the National Business Group on Health.

Richard Payne, MD is a Professor of Medicine at Duke University and the Esther Colliflower Director of the Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life. He received his BA from Yale University and his MD degree from Harvard Medical School. Dr. Payne is an internationally known expert in the areas of pain relief, care for those near death, oncology and neurology. Prior to his appointment at Duke, he led the Pain and Palliative Care Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, where he held the Anne Burnett Tandy Chair in Neurology. Dr. Payne is a past President of the American Pain Society and is certified in palliative medicine from the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and in pain management from the American Academy of Neurology and the American Academy of Pain Medicine. He is a cancer survivor and has served as board chair of the National Association of Cancer Survivors. Dr. Payne also serves on the board of directors on the Hastings Bioethics Center.

Jeffrey M. Peppercorn, MD, MPH is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Medical Oncology, Duke University Medical Center. He earned his medical degree from Harvard medical school and completed his Internal Medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and then his fellowship training in Hematology/ Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. He is also Adjunct Professor in Health Policy and Administration at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health and an Associate of the Trent Center for Bioethics and Humanities at Duke University. Dr. Peppercorn’s interests include breast cancer, medical ethics and health care policy.  Jeffrey serves as the 2011 Chair of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Ethics Committee.

Karen R. Sepucha, Ph.D. is the director of the Health Decision Sciences Center in the General Medicine Division at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and an assistant professor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her research and clinical interests involve developing and implementing tools and methods to improve the quality of significant medical decisions made by patients and clinicians. She is also responsible for efforts to promote shared decision making into primary and specialty care at MGH through patient decision aids and clinician skills training.