Our Story

The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare’s mission is simple, but compelling: to promote compassionate healthcare so that patients and their professional caregivers relate to one another in a way that provides hope to the patient, support to caregivers and sustenance to the healing process.

Our pioneering programs:
 

• improve communication between caregivers and patients
• promote compassion and empathy
• enhance spiritual caregiving as well as palliative and end-of-life care
• influence caregiver training
• encourage the dissemination of best practices
• empower patients and families

Our other programs include:
 

• Clinical Pastoral Education for Health Care Professionals – intensive course for physicians, nurses, social workers and other clinicians teaching them how to integrate spiritual caregiving skills into their practice.
• Grants – support for projects to improve communications skills, especially in the areas of cultural competency, end-of-life care and spirituality.
• Speaker Series – educational programs exploring the most topical issues related to compassionate health care.
• The Schwartz Center Compassionate Caregiver Award® – prestigious honor for a Massachusetts caregiver who displays extraordinary compassion in caring for patients.

The Schwartz Center is an autonomous, nonprofit organization operating under the 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status of the Massachusetts General Hospital. Its separate Board of Directors has complete discretion over the Center's budget. The Schwartz Center relies on tax-deductible charitable contributions from foundations, corporations and individuals to carry out its work.