Division of Palliative Medicine
Our mission is to improve care and quality of life for people living with serious illness.
Our compassionate physicians, advanced care providers, social workers, nurses and patient/program supports provide specialized team-based medical care to patients. We are available to patients with serious illness while hospitalized and in the ambulatory setting. Our outpatient care is heavily focused on supportive care for patients with active cancer, although we recently expanded to include non-cancer serious illness for goals of care discussions.
Mary S. Kraemer, MD
Head, Division of Palliative Medicine
We address the symptoms and stress of serious illness in the following ways:
Provision of expert communication about illness, options of care and prognosis while exploring patient’s values and priorities so that we may better align their goals of care to available treatments.
Management of complex symptoms and distress associated with serious illness, particularly in patients with active cancer.
Commitment to training our health care workforce in primary skills in person-centered care and communication.
We are academically housed in the Department of Medicine and part of MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper.
At a Glance
Education
Our faculty is academically vibrant. We are well-represented at Cooper Medical School at Rowan University, teaching throughout the four-year curriculum, leading interprofessional education and small group learning courses and affiliated with the Ed Viner Center for Humanism. We host a variety of graduate medical trainees at both the resident and fellow level from across specialties on elective with us. We are routinely asked to enhance understanding of communication strategies, symptom management and person-centered, holistic care throughout the health system.
We established the area’s first Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship. This year-long experience provides a comprehensive, hands-on education in the science and art of palliative medicine. Our graduates are well prepared for HPM board certification, and for careers as expert practitioners in this expanding field.
Research
Our research is focused on improving access, delivery, and the quality of palliative care provided to our patients. Some examples have been providing earlier palliative care consultation to patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, and later to all those with solid tumor metastatic disease when hospitalized. We also seek to ensure outreach to historically marginalized patients, and work to improve patient safety metrics and avoid readmissions, especially near the end of life.
Patient Care
Our clinicians provide exceptional, patient-centered care that emphasizes relief from suffering, effective symptom management, and comprehensive support for patients and families. Through a multidisciplinary model grounded in respect and humanism, we ensure that each patient’s care plan reflects their goals, values, and definition of quality of life.
More About Cooper University Health Care
-
Physicians at Cooper
Learn why Cooper is the best place to learn and practice medicine.
-
Open Positions
Search for a faculty position at Cooper.
-
Philanthropy
Cooper has more than 30 funds that support education and research.
-
About Cooper
Cooper University Health Care is a leading academic health system employing more than 1,000 physicians in 95 specialties and subspecialties.