DENVER, Jan. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Daniel Johnson, MD, the national physician lead for palliative care at Kaiser Permanente's Care Management Institute, has been named a recipient of a 2013 Hastings Center Cunniff-Dixon Physician Award. The award annually honors leaders who distinguish themselves in caring for patients near the end of life. 

Dr. Johnson, who is also director of palliative care innovations and development for Kaiser Permanente Colorado, received the "mid-career award." There were four other Hastings Center Cunniff-Dixon awards: three early-career awards and a senior award. Each recipient has been exemplary in one of four areas: medical practice, teaching, research and community.

"I am so grateful and honored to have received this prestigious award.  I have long admired the important work of the Hastings Center and the Cunniff-Dixon Foundation ― organizations steadfastly dedicated to humanity and compassion in medicine — and I feel humbled to stand among such accomplished colleagues.  While this award serves to recognize my work, it also gives tribute to the passion and dedication of the many individuals with whom I've been fortunate to share this journey."

Dr. Johnson has championed an approach to palliative care that focuses on comprehensive, interdisciplinary team-based support for patients and their loved ones. This team approach, which was evaluated in Kaiser Permanente studies in the hospital, home and outpatient settings, showed improved quality of care for seriously ill patients on measures that included patient satisfaction, communication and reduced hospital admissions. Across Kaiser Permanente's eight regions, Dr. Johnson's leadership has helped to influence universal access to palliative care support in all Kaiser Permanente-affiliated hospitals and rapidly expanded access to palliative support in outpatient settings.

A graduate of the Harvard Program in palliative care education and practice, Dr. Johnson is a practicing physician on the palliative care consult services at Exempla St. Joseph Hospital in Denver and Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center in Lafayette, Colo. Additionally, Dr. Johnson serves as the director of the Life Quality Institute, an organization that has provided more than 200,000 hours of palliative care education for Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region's health professionals and communities.

The Cunniff-Dixon Foundation's mission is to enrich the doctor-patient relationship near the end of life. The Hastings Center is a bioethics research institute that has done exceptional work on end-of-life decision-making.

About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve more than 9 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: kp.org/newscenter.

Contact: Mark Camps, Kaiser Permanente, 510-529-1854

SOURCE Kaiser Permanente