Jennifer M. Kapo, MD, associate professor of medicine (geriatrics) and chief of palliative medicine at Yale New Haven Hospital, has been named the Sherwin B. Nuland and Michael K. Vlock Associate Professor of Palliative Medicine, effective immediately.
Kapo, who joined the Yale faculty in 2012, received her MD degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997. Her work includes providing clinical palliative medicine to patients at Smilow Cancer Hospital, conducting research in palliative medicine, and expanding teaching opportunities for existing Yale faculty, staff, fellows, residents, and medical students.
She is being recognized for her leadership as the inaugural chief of the Yale Palliative Care Program and Yale New Haven Hospital Palliative Care Service, which includes an interdisciplinary team of more than 20 people, including two social workers and two chaplains, and other professionals including an art therapist. The program has achieved substantial growth in its first six years, both in clinical services provided and in patients/families served. The size and expertise of the palliative care faculty and interdisciplinary team have expanded rapidly with a resulting increase in clinical and scholarly collaborations across Yale. Kapo also has supported the development of the hospice and palliative medicine physician fellowship.
Kapo has promoted excellence in the quality of care for patients and their families, while stewarding resources toward further program building to serve a wider community. These efforts are balanced by her championing of resilience practice and core values so the palliative care team can continue to thrive. She is a nationally recognized leader in palliative care as a clinical program chief, clinician, educator, mentor, and scholar.