On Sunday May 26, 2013 at his home in Toronto Dr. Larry Librach was awarded the 2013 Eduardo Bruera Award in Palliative Medicine by the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians'. This award is given annually to a physician who demonstrates excellence in the field of Palliative Medicine as recognized by his or her peers. It honors the achievements of Dr. Eduardo Bruera, an internationally recognized palliative care physician and researcher. The award is graciously donated by the Division of Palliative Care Medicine at the University of Alberta to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Bruera during his tenure as Director of the Palliative Care program, with matching funds from the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians (CSPCP). The award consists of $2,000 and recognizes those who have made contributions at a local/regional level and demonstrated a commitment to excellence in palliative medicine in clinical palliative medicine, education, research, program administration or international involvement in palliative medicine. The winner is usually presented with a plaque at the CSPCP Annual General Meeting.
The nomination for Dr Larry Librach noted the following highlights of Larry's long career:
- Larry has been involved in the promotion and development of palliative care since 1986 especially within the Toronto area. At Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto since 1989, in 1991 he began to work with Dr. Frank Ferris to build a home palliative care service which rapidly expanded to all of Greater Toronto. In 1997 with major funding the Temmy Latner Center for Palliative Care was created. In 2011 when Larry retired as Director of the Temmy Latner Center there were 22 physicians on staff- 18 in the Home care program and 4 in the In-Hospital program at Mount Sinai Hospital. Other milestones included the formation of the Hospice Palliative Care network ( HPCNet) in 1999 – this partnership with Toronto Community Care Access Center and community volunteer hospice was the first regional palliative care program in Ontario. In 2005 the Center was also awarded its first government contract – the Alternate Payment Plan developed has led the way for other similar physician contracts across Canada.
- Larry has also served the larger Palliative Care community as a Past- President of both the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association as well as the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians.
- A palliative care physician known for his humor and compassion Larry has also been a leader in the development of Palliative Care education publishing a Pain Manual in 1991 and a textbook of Palliative Care (Palliative Care: Core Skills and Clinical Competencies) in 2011. He has delivered over 500 lectures all over the world as well as contributing to many publications in textbooks and journals about palliative care. Larry was also the Physician leader of the national Educating Future Physicians for Palliative and End of Life Care (EFPPEC) Project which introduced curriculum in palliative and end-of-life care to Canada’s 17 medical schools as well as an Education consultant to the Education in Palliative & End-of-Life Care (EPEC) project in the USA.
Key publications:
- Emanuel, L., & Librach, S. L. (2011). Palliative Care: Core Skills and Clinical Competencies. Philadelphia: Elsevier-Saunders.
- Librach, S. L., Bouvette, M., DeAngelis, et al. (2010). Canadian Consensus Development Group for Constipation in Patients with Advanced Progressive Illness: Consensus Recommendations for the Management of Constipation in Patients with Advanced, Progressive Illness. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 40(5), 761-73. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21075273
- Dean, C. S., Cellarius, V., Henry, B., Oneschuk, D. & Librach, S. L. (2012). Framework for Continuous Palliative Sedation Therapy (CPST) in Canada. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 15(8). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22747192
His academic achievements within University of Toronto include:
- W. Gifford-Jones Professor in Pain Control and Palliative Care from 1999-2011. Larry is still a full professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine.
- First Head of the Division of Palliative Care in the Department of Family and Community Medicine from 2007-2011.
- July 2011 he was appointed as the Sun Life Financial Chair in Bioethics and the Director of the Joint Centre for Bioethics.
- Dr. Librach is the recipient of a number of awards from a number of organizations including the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association, the Ontario Palliative Care Association, the Ontario Medical Association, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, the University of Toronto and now the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians.
Larry is pictured here with Dr. Doris Barwich, President, Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians