Ed. Note:  The following is a press release from the American Pain Society.

April 12, 2007 -- The American Pain Society today announced recipients of its first
Clinical Centers of Excellence in Pain Management Awards honoring the nation's outstanding pain care centers. Six multidisciplinary pain programs were selected.

They are:

• NYU Medical Center, Hospital for Joint Diseases, Bellevue Hospital Center,
  Comprehensive Pain Management Center, New York

• The Rosomoff Comprehensive Pain Center, Miami

• Brigham and Women's Hospital, Pain Management Center, Department of
  Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Boston

• UCSF Pain Management Center and UCSF PainCARE, Center for Advanced
  Research and Education, San Francisco

• Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Div. of Pain Management,
  Cincinnati

• James A. Haley Veterans Affairs Hospital, Chronic Pain Rehabilitation
  Program, Tampa

     More than 90 applications were judged by a panel of prominent pain management experts. The program was established by APS to recognize forward-thinking teams of health care professionals who address critical needs in pain management in their communities. Any US-based, multidisciplinary, clinical program that provides direct patient care and focuses primarily on pain management was eligible to apply. The recipients will receive their awards at a ceremony during the APS Annual Scientific
Conference in Washington, DC, May 2 - 5.
     "We were very impressed by the quality of the programs submitted for consideration and, as a pain care professional, I'm deeply gratified to see such outstanding outcomes being achieved by multidisciplinary pain care teams nationwide," said APS President Judith Paice, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.,
director, cancer pain program, Northwestern University Feinberg School of
Medicine.
     "As APS celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, the Clinical Centers of Excellence Awards pay tribute to the organization's ongoing advocacy on behalf of multidisciplinary pain care. Accordingly, these awards honor pain care teams for overcoming difficult challenges every day to deliver optimal and exemplary care for those with chronic-pain disorders, post-surgical pain, trauma-induced pain and pain from cancer and other life-threatening conditions," Paice added.
      A recurring quality of leading pain programs, according to Paice, is their success in helping pain patients enhance their overall functionality and quality of life. "While drugs play an important role in treatment, incorporating cognitive-behavioral and physical therapies and other approaches is the major therapeutic advantage of the multidisciplinary approach for treating the whole person, not just the pain. Our award recipients and other centers are proving every day that integrated,
multidisciplinary pain care yields the best long-term outcomes -- medically, psychologically and socially," she said.

Honorable Mention Selections

The APS judging panel also identified eight centers for honorable
mention recognition. They are:

• Dept. of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care, Beth Israel Medical Center, NY

• UW Health, University of Wisconsin Health Pain Care Services, Madison

• Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Adolf Meyer Chronic Pain Treatment
  Program, Baltimore

• University of California Davis, Division of Pain Medicine, Sacramento

• University of California San Diego Center for Pain Medicine

• The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Pain Medicine, Houston

• Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Richard Barrett Pain Management
  Center, Lebanon, NH

• Oregon Health & Science University, Pediatric Pain Management Center,
  Portland

About the American Pain Society

     Based in Glenview, Ill., the American Pain Society (APS) is a multidisciplinary community that brings together a diverse group of scientists, clinicians and other professionals to increase the knowledge of pain and transform public policy and clinical practice to reduce pain-related suffering.
     APS was founded in 1978 with 510 charter members. From the outset, the group was conceived as a multidisciplinary organization. APS has enjoyed solid growth since its early days and today has approximately 3,200 members. The Board of Directors includes physicians, nurses, psychologists, basic scientists, pharmacists, policy analysts and more.

Program Supporters
The Clinical Centers of Excellence in Pain Management program is made
possible with the generous support of Endo Pharmaceuticals, Abbott
Laboratories, Cephalon, King Pharmaceuticals, Merck and Pfizer.
 

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