Empathy and Compassion Matters.

Marina Sampanes Peed, a friend and fellow person with a MPN, shared her reactions to the recent US election on her website. Marina's comments are compassionate and inspiring.

I shared her post on Facebook - see my embedded post below.

Jessie Gruman's Legacy

Last May, I wrote a post, Jessie Gruman, A True Champion for Patient Engagement, highlighting the extraordinary contributions that Jessie has made as a tireless advocate for this cause.

This week, after a long illness, Jessie died, generating both great sadness and wonderful tributes from those who had the good fortune to know her, work with her or benefit from her myriad contributions to the fields of patient engagement, health policy, behavioral medicine and public health.

I, too, am deeply saddened by this news. All those who knew her will all miss her wisdom, perspective, advocacy, and passion. 

I, personally, have been forever changed as a result of my interactions with Jessie. Jessie had a unique capacity to connect with others on a personal and emotional level, while also offering her input, feedback and perspective in a way that was precise and powerful.

One might say that Jessie's "way of being" epitomized effective engagement! 

As I noted in my post in May, the Jessie is the founder of the Center for Advancing Health, an organization which has developed, collected and disseminated fabulous resources and tools on patient engagement, health behavior, health policy and other related topics. See also Jessie's Prepared Patient Blog, where an In Memoriam statement has been posted from M. Chris Gibbons, MD, MPH, Chair of CFAH's Board of Trustees. You will also find many wonderful tributes from colleagues and respected leaders from the many fields that have been touched by Jessie's work.

Jessie's has also left us several several books, written from the patient perspective, in which she shares her insights as a patient, researcher, advocate, consultant and policy expert. Her books include:

Aftershock: When the Doctor Gives you - or Someone You Love - a Devastating Diagnosis(2007),
Cancer Survivorship: What I Wish I'd Known Earlier (2013)
Slow Leaks: Missed Opportunities to Encourage Our Engagement in Health Care (2013)A Year of Living Sickishly: A Patient Reflects (2013)

I am fortunate to have known and been impacted by Jessie. Her clear, articulate voice and pearls of wisdom will be with me forever. As a result, I am more committed than ever to furthering her vision of patient and health engagement.

Jessie Gruman: A True Champion for Patient Engagement

Jessie Gruman has been a outspoken and articulate advocate for people's engagement in health care for several decades. Actually, Jessie is more than an advocate. She is a visionary, a beacon, a once in a lifetime voice for millions of patients and caregivers who struggle with serious health care conditions.

Jessie is the founder and president of the Center for Advancing Health which, since 1992, has has focused people’s engagement in their health care from the patient perspective. Prior to founding CFAH, Jessie addressed health engagement, as well as the effects of behavior on health for the public sector (National Institutes of Health),  the voluntary health sector (American Cancer Society) and the private sector (AT&T).

In April, I had the opportunity to chat briefly with Jessie at the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) Annual Meeting in Philadelphia. During this year's meeting, the SBM Board acknowledged and celebrated Jessie's lifetime contributions to health engagement by awarding her the inaugural Jessie Gruman Health Engagement Award.

In a moving brief ceremony, Jessie was acknowledged for her passionate and highly effective advocacy as well as for her wisdom, guidance  and contributions to the fields of both behavioral medicine and health engagement.

The Center for Advancing Health website is a great place to find research reviews, policy briefs, news, blogs and fabulous resources on patient and caregiver engagement, as well as other topical health care issues. If you visit, you will have a hard time leaving and you won't be able to avoid bookmarking at least 1 of the resources you will find there.

Be sure to sample Jessie's Prepared Patient Blog. Jessie makes frequent entries, often sharing stories about her own experiences coping with 5 life-threatening conditions. The Prepared Patient Blog also features guest bloggers, including leaders in the fields of health engagement, health policy, patient advocacy and health behavior change.

I also recommend Jessie's books, written from the patient perspective, chronically her journey as a patient and her insights as a researcher, advocate, consultant and policy expert. Her books include:

• Aftershock: When the Doctor Gives you - or Someone You Love - a Devastating Diagnosis (2007), 
• Cancer Survivorship: What I Wish I'd Known Earlier (2013)
• Slow Leaks: Missed Opportunities to Encourage Our Engagement in Health Care (2013)
• A Year of Living Sickishly: A Patient Reflects (2013) 

I will share more about Jessie, CFAH and The Prepared Patient Blog in upcoming posts.