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Featured Keynote Sessions

We are excited to share the 2024 keynote faculty for the Annual Assembly of Hospice and Palliative Care. These sessions are designed to broaden your thinking and inspire thought-provoking conversations.

Rakia Reynolds

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Thursday, March 21, 2024Rakia Reynolds headshot blue

Rakia Reynolds is an inquisitive thought leader and accomplished brand expert who leaves audiences with inspiration, information and experienced guidance on how to navigate the ever increasing complex and intertwined cultural, social and business landscapes.

As the founder and Executive Officer of Skai Blue Media, Rakia is a sought after expert in strategic communications, crisis management, D&I and more. She shares brand stories that lay the groundwork for navigating the future landscape. Breaking down complex messaging, Rakia also shows how to establish immediate connections with consumers and convey equity in the delivery.

Susan Block, MD FAAHPM

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Susan Block PhotoFriday, March 22, 2024

Susan D. Block, MD FAAHPM received her AB from Stanford University, her MD from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and completed residencies in both internal medicine and psychiatry at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston.  She is board-certified in both fields. For the past 40 years, Dr. Block has been a national leader in the development of the field of palliative medicine, focused particularly on the psychological and psychiatric issues related to serious illness, and has led major innovative educational and quality improvement projects in a variety of areas. She is known internationally as an expert in medical education, communication teaching, faculty development, and health system change, and has contributed to research in medical education, palliative care, Psycho-Oncology, and health system change.

She was the Founding Chair of the Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care at Dana-Farber and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Founding Co-Director, with her husband, Andy Billings, MD of the Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care, a national center of excellence for palliative care education.  In addition, she was the founder and  Director of the  Serious Illness Care Program at Ariadne Labs, a joint center for healthcare innovation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard School of Public Health, and a Professor of Psychiatry and Medicine at Harvard Medical School.  She is the author of over 200 publications and has won numerous awards for education, research, and leadership in both palliative medicine and psychiatry. She currently spends her time teaching undergraduates and clinicians at Dana-Farber, seeing patients, learning Italian, and developing herself as a printmaker and artist.

Dr. Block will reflect on the factors that make mental health issues challenging within the palliative care context, including the issues of stigma, lack of core knowledge, inadequate access to mental health expertise, and cultural differences (including the role of the culture of medicine in contributing to these deficits). It will focus on core mental health competencies that are of particular importance to non-mental health palliative care clinicians. Opportunities for all palliative care programs to enhance the learning of these basic mental health competencies during palliative care specialty training (and beyond) will be explored. This presentation will stimulate discussion, debate, and learning for multidisciplinary clinicians aiming to advance the support for patients with mental illness and their families.

State of the Science

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Saturday, March 23, 2024

The Saturday morning opening keynote will review the latest research in hospice and palliative care as selected by you and your colleagues. Published research, crowd-sourced from members, will be discussed on our keynote stage. Future practice implications considered and the impact it will have on the advancement of palliative care and hospice will be addressed.