$1 Million Gift from Joachim Silbermann Family Funds Clinical Scholar
NEW YORK (June 13, 2006) — A $1 million gift from the Joachim Silbermann Family has created the Joachim Silbermann Family Scholar in Geriatric Palliative Care. Dr. Manney Carrington Reid Jr., a nationally renowned expert on pain in older adults, will lead this important effort for Weill Medical College of Cornell University.
Dr. Reid was recruited from the Geriatrics Division of Yale University, where he also served as a physician at Branford Hospice, the first hospice in the United States.
"With this generous gift from the Silbermann family, the Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology can give greater support to one of the most important aspects of medicine dating back to Hippocrates — namely, the relief of suffering," says Dr. Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College.
"Whatever advances are made in medical technology, there will always be a need for a caring physician to relieve pain and suffering when medicine can no longer 'cure.' I see this as a fundamental role of the doctor," says Dr. Reid. "Along with treating patients, I will teach students and residents in geriatric pain management, and research new treatments in this area."
Working together with Dr. Reid will be a multidisciplinary team of physicians, nurse practitioners and other health professionals, as well as social workers, chaplains and ethicists. The service is not exclusively limited to patients needing end-of-life care; patients with uncontrolled symptoms — such as pain, shortness of breath, anxiety, depression or spiritual crisis — can also be served. The team also focuses heavily on the needs of family members, who are invariably affected by a loved one's illness. Any adult inpatient is eligible to receive the palliative care services, regardless of insurance or ability to pay.
This gift marks the third Clinical Scholar Award to be funded by the Silbermann Family in the Division of Geriatric Medicine. Dr. Veronica M. LoFaso, Director of the Geriatric Medicine House Call Program, and Dr. Taryn Yeon Sil Lee, Director of the Geriatric Medicine Consult Service, are also Joachim Silbermann Family Clinical Scholars.
Dr. Manney Carrington Reid
Dr. Reid received his medical degree from the University of South Carolina. He completed his residency at Dartmouth Medical Center. At Yale, he also received the coveted Paul Beeson Physician Faculty Scholarship in Aging, a highly competitive national award given to top physician-scientists in geriatric medicine. Dr. Reid has published widely on the management of pain in older people.
The Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College
The Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University — located in New York City — is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine. The Medical College, a primary academic affiliate of the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, offers an innovative curriculum that integrates the teaching of basic and clinical sciences, problem-based learning, office-based preceptorships, and primary care and doctoring courses. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research in such areas as stem cells, genetics and gene therapy, geriatrics, neuroscience, structural biology, cardiovascular biology, AIDS, cancer and psychiatry — and continue to delve ever-deeper into the molecular basis of disease in an effort to unlock the mysteries behind the human body and the malfunctions that result in serious medical disorders. Weill Cornell Medical College is the birthplace of many medical advances — from the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer to the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., and most recently, the world's first clinical trial for gene therapy for Parkinson's disease. Weill Cornell's Physician Organization includes 650 clinical faculty, who provide the highest quality of care to patients.
Leslie Greenberg
leg2003@med.cornell.edu