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Message from the Chair
&
Executive Director
Kathleen M. Foley, MD (USA)
Liliana De Lima, MHA (USA)
Dear readers:
We are delighted to announce to our readers and the palliative care community that the IAHPC Board has recently elected Dr. Roberto Wenk as the next IAHPC Chairperson starting in January 2008 after Dr Foley’s term as Chair ends.
Dr. Wenk is a native of Argentina; he trained as an anesthesiologist and has, for the past 25 years, worked across the spectrum of palliative care issues ranging from clinical, educational and policy fields. He was the co-founder of the Argentinean Association for Palliative Care and one of the founders of the Latin American Association for Palliative Care. In both positions, Dr. Wenk established himself as a strong advocate and leader in devising the appropriate strategies that proved successful in building structure and process for both organizations.
He is currently head of the Argentinean Program for Palliative Care of the Federación Médica de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (FEMEBA) which clusters the largest association of physicians in Argentina. In this position, he oversees the palliative care programs in the Hospital Sommer, Hospital Tornu and the Liga Argentina de Lucha Contra El Cáncer (LALCEC). In addition, he is also the editor of the newsletter and bulletin of the Latin American Association for PC
Dr. Wenk has traveled widely and contributed to several international efforts for the development of pain and palliative care around the world. His name is recognized in Latin America and more recently, globally, in his role in the Worldwide Palliative Care Alliance.
We are confident that under his leadership IAHPC will continue to grow as a global palliative care organization helping individuals, programs and institutions around the world.
On another topic, we are also happy to announce that as part of our mission to work on effective interventions and projects to promote policy and educational changes in hospice and palliative care in the world, we will participate at the end of this month in a workshop organized by the Fondo Nacional de Estupefacientes (FNE) of the Ministry of Health in Colombia. During this workshop, we will identify barriers and develop strategies to improve access to and the availability of opioid analgesics. The workshop is part of an action plan developed by Dr Marta Leon at the Universidad de la Sabana in her role as an International Pain Policy Fellow of the Pain and Policy Studies Group located in the University of Wisconsin. Other organizations participating in the workshop include the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the Colombian Pain IASP Chapter and the Colombian Association for Palliative Care. We look forward to the results of this workshop and will try to determine if this workshop model can be replicated in other countries as an effective strategy to improve access to pain relief.
Until next month,
Kathy Foley, MD
Chair, Board of Directors
Liliana De Lima, MHA
Executive Director
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