Kathryn B. Kirkland, MD, section chief and director of palliative care at Dartmouth Health's Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, and a professor of medicine and of health policy and clinical practice at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, was awarded by the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Care at its 28th annual Kenneth B. Schwartz Compassionate Healthcare Dinner on November 9. Kirkland was one of six recipients of 2023 National Compassionate Caregivers of the Year (NCYY) Award, honoring healthcare professionals and teams who display extraordinary compassion in the care of their patients, colleagues and their communities.
"The 2023 NCCY Award recipients are leading the way in addressing healthcare inequities that were exacerbated by the pandemic," said Mark E. Reynolds, chair of the Schwartz Center Board. "These visionary change-makers are addressing social determinants of health by increasing access to care in underserved communities, and are building programs to reduce stigma and support the most vulnerable populations. Together, we celebrate their incredible dedication."
The Schwartz Center recognized Kirkland as a provider of compassionate care to patients facing serious illness and their families, and a skilled communicator who has incorporated narrative medicine into every aspect of her work. She was also credited for instituting Dartmouth Health’s annual Walk of Remembrance, honoring and supporting mutual connection through the shared experience of grief and loss.
About Dartmouth Health
Dartmouth Health, New Hampshire’s only academic health system and largest private employer, serves patients across New England. Dartmouth Health provides access to more than 2,300 providers in nearly every area of medicine, delivering care at its flagship hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, NH. Its network of hospitals, outpatient centers, clinics and home care facilities, spans a broad geographical area. Year after year, DHMC is named the #1 hospital in New Hampshire by U.S. News & World Report, and is consistently recognized for high performance in numerous clinical specialties and procedures. Dartmouth Health includes Dartmouth Cancer Center, northern New England’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers and one of less than than 60 total nationally; Dartmouth Health Children’s, which includes the state’s only children’s hospital (Children’s Hospital at DHMC/CHaD) and more than 20 locations around the region; eight member hospitals in Lebanon, Keene, Claremont, Hampstead, and New London, NH, and Windsor and Bennington, VT; Dartmouth Health Home Care; Dartmouth Health Connected Care Center for Telehealth, serving patients as far away as Texas; and more than 30 primary and multi-specialty clinics across New Hampshire and Vermont. Through its partnership with Dartmouth College, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and the White River Junction VA Medical Center, Dartmouth Health trains nearly 400 medical residents and fellows annually and performs cutting-edge research and clinical trials with international impact. Dartmouth Health and its more than 16,000 employees are committed to serving the healthcare needs of everyone in the communities it serves and to providing every patient with exceptional, state-of-the-art, personalized care. Learn more at dartmouth-health.org.