The Regence Foundation is honoring the Sacred Art of Living Center in Bend with a Sojourns Award for leadership and innovation in advancing palliative care in Oregon. The award includes a $50,000 grant to support continued advancements in palliative care. The center plans to use the grant to expand access to its Sacred Art of Living and Dying programs, which focus on spirituality in end-of-life care.
Palliative care is a medical specialty that brings relief and comfort to seriously ill patients and their families. The award is part of The Regence Foundation’s Sojourns program to expand access to hospital and community based palliative care services.
“The Sacred Art of Living Center’s interfaith technique really bridges science and spirituality to support both patients and caregivers in their personal growth as they travel the end-of-life care path,” said Peggy Maguire, Regence Foundation board chair. “Palliative care truly is about helping people live well, and for most that means much more than just addressing a patient’s medical needs.”
Established in 1997 by Richard and Mary Groves, the Center is the nation’s first comprehensive training and certification program for spirituality in end-of-life care. Its programs focus on “healing the healers” by helping them work through their own conflicts about end of life, as well as fostering the transformational aspect of suffering by both patients and their caregivers to find deeper meaning in the experience. It has trained more than 19,000 professional and lay caregivers, from Oregon and around the world, in a holistic model that integrates the needs of body, mind and spirit.
The Sacred Art of Living Center staff will be honored for their accomplishments at a Sojourns Award ceremony in Portland on November 30. To attend or learn more, visit www.regencefoundation.org.
About The Regence Foundation
The Regence Foundation is the corporate foundation of Regence, the largest health insurer in the Northwest/Intermountain region and a nonprofit independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. A 501(c)3 grantmaking organization, the Foundation partners with organizations driving significant change in health care delivery and accessibility in Idaho, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Through its Sojourns program, the Foundation also supports organizations advancing quality palliative and end-of-life care. For more information visit www.RegenceFoundation.org or www.twitter.com/RegenceGives.
