Jeffery Edenfield, MD and Mark O’Rourke, MD Receive Certification in Hospice and Palliative Medicine

Greenville, SC....It is with great pleasure that CancerCenters of the Carolinas announces that Jeffery Edenfield, MD and Mark O’Rourke, MD have been certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine. In addition, Dr. O’Rourke has participated as a Faculty Scholar at The Program in Palliative Care Education and Practice (PCEP) at Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care in Boston, MA.

Hospice and palliative medicine is the medical discipline of care devoted to achieving the best possible quality of life for the patient and family throughout the course of a life-threatening illness through the relief of suffering and the control of symptoms. Hospice and palliative medicine help the patient and family face the prospect of death assured that comfort will be a priority, values and decisions will be respected, spiritual and psychosocial needs will be addressed, practical support will be available and opportunities will exist for growth and development. Hospice in the United States is an organized program that provides palliative care for terminally ill patients and supportive services to patients, their families, and significant others.

Eligibility requirements for certification are significant. In order to be eligible to sit for the certifying examination, applicants must have received prior major specialty certification, practiced at least two years following residency, worked as a member of an interdisciplinary team for at least two years and have directly participated in the active care of at least fifty terminally ill patients in the preceding three years. Alternatively, applicants must have completed specialty fellowship training in palliative medicine. The fellowship training program must be at least one year in length and must meet the established voluntary standards for such a program.