The International Collaborative for Best Care for the Dying Person is governed by an
Executive Committee, nominated and elected from within the general membership.
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The Committee meets every two months, and its remit includes:
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Setting the Collaborative's annual strategic objectives and and managing their progress
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Overseeing the organisation of meetings, courses, and events
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Approving and monitoring progress of work programmes and project groups
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Publicising and promoting the Collaborative's work
The Executive Committee ensures that the work of the Collaborative aligns with the overall vision, and with the values represented within its core objectives.
MEET THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Professor
John Ellershaw

Professor John Ellershaw is Director of the Palliative Care Institute at the University of Liverpool, and also leads the Academic Palliative & End of Life Care Centre at the Royal Liverpool & Broadgreen University Hospitals, which includes the ground-breaking 12-bedded Academic Palliative Care Unit. His main research interests are care of the dying, ethics, and medical education.
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As Chair of the International Collaborative for Best Care for the Dying Person, he directs the Coordinating Centre and oversees the work undertaken by each of the international project groups.
University of Liverpool,
United Kingdom
Committee Chair
Professor
Carl Johan Fürst

Carl Johan Fürst, M.D., is professor of palliative medicine at the Institute for Palliative Care (Palliativt Utvecklingscentrum), Lund University, Sweden. He has a background in oncology but has practiced palliative medicine for the last decades. His present academic focus is on topics related to quality aspects of palliative care; including symptoms, clinical guidelines, communication skills, leadership and bereavement. He is co-chairing the International Collaborative for Best Care fo the Dying Person.
University of Lund,
Sweden
Vice Chair
Associate Professor
Mark Boughey

Biography coming soon
St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne
Australia
Treasurer

Grethe Skorpen Iversen, RN, is a registered Palliative Care Nurse based at Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway, and a network coordinator for the Regional Centre of Excellence for Palliative Care, Western Norway. She has been a member of the International Collaborative Executive Committee for several years and is the co-Chair of the Facilitator Network.
Haukeland University Hospital,
Norway
Secretary
Grethe Skorpen Iversen, RN
Pallium Latinoamérica
Argentina

Dr Vilma Tripodoro
Dr Vilma Tripodoro is a native of Buenos Aires City, Argentina, where she has worked as a physician for over 30 years and held leadership roles at a university teaching hospital. In 2001 she joined Pallium Latinoamérica, an NGO that promotes palliative care development and education in South America. She achieved a PhD from the University of Vic in Barcelona, Spain, in 2016.
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Vilma joined the International Collaborative in 2014 and continues to enjoy the opportunities for professional networking and friendship that it offers. As a member of the Executive Committee, she hosted the Fifth Annual Symposium in Buenos Aires in 2018 and is actively involved in research projects including EraNET LAC CODE and the iLIVE Project.
Committee Member
Dr Susie Wilkinson

Biography coming soon
University of Liverpool,
United Kingdom
International Liaison Lead
Escola Superior de Saúde Santa Maria
Portugal

Assistant Professor
Catarina Simões, RN
Catarina Simões, RN Msc, PhDs, is Assistant Professor of Nursing at Escola Superior de Saúde Santa Maria, and a Palliative Care Nurse at Hospital da Luz Arrábida, Porto, Portugal.
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She is a member of the of both the Portuguese Palliative Care Association (APCP) and the scientific and technical coordination of the Portuguese Palliative Care Observatory (OPCP)
Her main research interests are care of the dying, ethics and bereavement.
Co-opted Member
Kasturba Medical College
India

Professor Naveen Salins
Biography coming soon.
Co-opted Member
Erasmus University,
The Netherlands
Professor Agnes van der Heide

Agnes van der Heide, MD, PhD, is professor of End-of-life care and decision making at the department of Public health of Erasmus MC, University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. She has been working in end-of-life care research since 1995. She investigates epidemiological, clinical, ethical and legal aspects of care, and has been principal investigator of many research projects at the local, national and international level. Currently, she is co-ordinating the Horizon 2020 funded iLIVE project, where we will study people’s expectations and concerns concerning the last phase of life, and the contribution of adequate medication management and volunteers.
Co-opted Member

Prof. Dr. Piret Paal is head of the Institute for Palliative Care at Paracelsus Medical University in Salzburg, Austria. She is Chair of the EAPC Education Reference Group and Action Lead of the EU-funded project "COllaboratively DEveloped culturallY Appropriate and inclusive Assessment tool for Palliative Care Education". Prof Paal is the author of an EAPC while paper on multidisciplinary spiritual care education in palliative care (2020) and her research interests include spiritual care, palliative care, and global health.
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Professor Piret Paal
Co-opted Member