Project on Death in America
Key Program Details
Purpose: To address the “critical need” for social workers to provide psychosocial support, case management, and advocacy for the terminally ill.
Funding: PDIA committed roughly $2 million specifically to social work initiatives during the project’s lifetime.
Legacy: Many of these recipients went on to found the Social Work Hospice & Palliative Care Network (SWHPN) and the Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life & Palliative Care.
Note: Patricia Prem, a social worker, also served as a founding board member of the PDIA and was instrumental in its creation, though she is often categorized as part of the leadership board rather than a grant recipient.
PDIA Social Work Scholars
| Recipient | Primary Institution (at time of award) | Project/Focus Area |
| Mercedes Bern-Klug | University of Kansas | Psychosocial concerns of nursing home residents at end-of-life. |
| David Cherin | University of Washington | Evaluation of social work impact in hospice and palliative care. |
| Sheila R. Enders | UC Davis Medical Center | Advance care planning for populations with low literacy or cognitive deficits. |
| Richard B. Francoeur | Columbia University | Impact of financial burden and deprivation on palliative care outcomes. |
| Barbara L. Jones | Albany Medical Center | Pediatric end-of-life care curriculum for social workers. |
| Jane Lindberg | Hinds Hospice | Bereavement training for rural and migrant Hispanic families. |
| Susan Murty | University of Iowa | Social work leadership in rural end-of-life services. |
| Mary Raymer | National Hospice & Palliative Care Org. | The Social Work End-of-Life Care Educational Program (SWE-life). |
| Gary L. Stein | New Jersey Health Decisions | Professional development and LGBT issues in end-of-life care. |
| Grace Christ | Columbia University | Developing leadership and curriculum for palliative social work. |
| Terry Altilio | Mount Sinai Medical Center | Interdisciplinary leadership and pain management advocacy. |
| Susan Blacker | Mount Sinai (formerly) | Clinical social work leadership in hospital-based palliative care. |
| Dona J. Reese | University of Arkansas | Social work assessment tools and outcomes measurement. |
| Ellen L. Csikai | University of Alabama | Social work ethics and professional education in end-of-life care. |
| Stacy Orloff | Suncoast Hospice | Integrating social work into hospice leadership and community care. |
| Judith (Judy) Peres | National Hospice & Palliative Care Org. | Policy advocacy and geriatric social work leadership. |
| Susan Gerbino | New York University | Clinical social work education (Zelda Foster Studies Program). |