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Partnership Names New Board Members

(Worcester, MA, December 2006) -- Two new members have been named to the board of the Central Massachusetts Partnership to Improve Care at the End of Life, Inc., a community coalition of professional, civic, business and religious leaders. They are Gerald M. Gates and Michael Kelleher, MD, announced Dennis Batey, Chair of the 12 member Board.

Gates, a resident of Princeton, MA, is President of American Stop Loss Insurance Brokerage Services Inc., the largest intermediary/broker of medical stop loss insurance in the United States. He was formerly a senior executive with UMass Memorial Health Care, Inc., Board Chair of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, and currently serves on the Government Relations Committee of the Self Insurance Institute of America, among other local community and industry groups.

Dr. Kelleher is Medical Director for Quality and Medical Management at Fallon Clinic. Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Dr. Kelleher has trained in medical leadership programs, including clinical performance improvement, risk and utilization management, patient education and shared decision making, and strategic planning and budgeting. He is a resident of Millbury, MA.

The Partnership is committed to the vision that all persons in Central Massachusetts live their last days in this life as comfortably as possible, in the setting of their choice, according to their expressed wishes, while they and their families are supported by a caring community. “We’re so pleased that both of these accomplished people will be joining us,” said Batey. “Each has a wealth of experience in health care and the private sector which will add breadth and depth to our board. This will allow us to reach out in our work to even more people.”

The Partnership’s web site www.betterending.org has an easily downloadable Massachusetts health care proxy form and related materials, as well as its signature eight-page brochure A Guide for a Better Ending. A volunteer from its Speakers Bureau can appear before community groups interested in learning about how to prepare in advance for serious illness.

Founded in 2002, The Central Massachusetts Partnership to Improve Care at the End of Life, Inc. is supported through the generosity of many grantors and in-kind donors including businesses, health care institutions, foundations, and individuals.

For further information, contact Christine McCluskey, RN, Executive Director, Central Massachusetts Partnership to Improve Care at the End of Life, Inc. at (508) 767-9877 or visit www.BetterEnding.org.