Faculty
Co-directors
Dr. Lynn F. Reinke
Dr. Reinke is an Investigator in Health Services Research & Development and a Nurse Practitioner at the VA Health Care System in Seattle, WA and a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Informatics, University of Washington, School of Nursing.
Dr. Reinke’s research focuses on improving the delivery of palliative and end-of-life care for patients with advanced, life-limiting illnesses. Her studies are designed to test nurse-led palliative care interventions in sub-specialty and primary care services and on improving the quality of clinicians’ end-of-life communication skills. In Lynn’s time outside of work, she enjoys practice yoga and going to Art Museums.
Dr. Amy Trowbridge
Dr. Trowbridge is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Bioethics and Palliative Care, Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine. Her clinical work is as an Attending Physician at Seattle Children’s Hospital both on the Palliative Care Team and as a General Pediatrician.
Dr. Trowbridge’s scholarly work focuses on improving education in Palliative Care for interdisciplinary professionals. In particular, she aims to improve primary palliative care and communication skills for medical residents, fellows, and faculty. Additionally, she studies disparities in communication and care provision for families of children with serious illness who have limited English proficiency.
Outside of work, Amy enjoys chasing the sun, skiing, and renting cabins in beautiful places with friends. DR.
Helene Starks, PhD, MPH is an Associate Professor in Bioethics & Humanities in the School of Medicine and Director of the Metrics, Quality & Evaluation core of the Cambia Palliative Care Center of Excellence. She is trained in communication (BA), and health services research (MPH, PhD). Her research and expertise focus on advance care planning, patient and family outcomes, and measuring the impact of palliative care programs for patients, families, clinicians and health care systems. When Helene is not in her office, you can find her exploring Seattle on her bike.
Core Faculty
Ardith Doorenbos, PhD, RN, FAAN
is Professor in the Department of Biobehavioral Nursing & Health Systems, School of Nursing and Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, School of Medicine. She also is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Global Health, School of Public Health at the University of Washington. She is the co-director of research operations of the Cambia Palliative Care Center of Excellence. She is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nurses (AAN) and is the lead co-chair of the AAN palliative and end-of-life care expert panel. Ardith’s research is centered on palliative care, pain and symptom management. Her grant portfolio is funded by the National Institute of Health: National Institute of Nursing Research and National Cancer Institute and other professional sources. When not at work, Ardith relaxes in her cabin in the Japanese national forest.
Caroline Hurd, MD is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Palliative Care and Internal Medicine at the University of Washington in the Department of Medicine, Division of Gerontology and Geriatrics. She earned her medical degree from University of California, San Francisco and completed Internal Medicine residency and Palliative Medicine Fellowship at University of Washington. Caroline is the Chair of the Education Operations for the UW Cambia Palliative Care Center of Excellence, Site Director for the UW Palliative Medicine fellowship at Harborview Medical Center where she is an attending physician on the inpatient palliative care consultation team and a senior faculty for VitalTalk. When not working, she spends free moments with her husband and two kids exploring the great outdoors or practicing resilience in the dance studio.
Expert Faculty
Anne Anderson, RN
Tonda Anderson is a Master’s certified physician assistant on the Harborview Medical Center’s inpatient palliative medicine service. Prior to graduate school at the University of Washington, she had two decades of medical experience as a critical care RN and exercise physiologist in Alaska and in the medical cardiac ICU at Harborview. She completed specialized palliative care training through Harvard Medical School’s Palliative Care Education & Practice program 2015-2016. Tonda enjoys kayaking, hiking, gardening, all things nature, poetry, writing, knitting, & has a keen interest in communication; notably teaching her 11 year-old 65# boxer/lab she is not a lap dog!
Sharmon Figenshaw, ARNP, ACHPN
Susan Merel, MD
Blair Mills, MHA
Grady Paden, MD is a practicing Palliative Care and Internal Medicine provider at VA Puget Sound, who has been a UW School of Medicine faculty member for 27 years. Grady worked in primary care for many years before pursuing his second career in palliative medicine. He is a 2015 graduate of the inaugural Cambia UW Palliative Care Certificate Course, and is completed VitalTalk faculty development training in 2017. In addition to this course, Grady uses his VitalTalk training as part of the national initiative by the VA system to train all providers in serious illness communication skills. He enjoys skiing, the outdoors, and music.
Elizabeth Perry, MSW is the Director of Palliative Care at UW Valley Medical Center. She has a clinical background in social work, and has held clinical and administrative positions in healthcare, non-profits, and NGOs in the US and internationally. She is a double alumni of the University of Washington School of Social Work, where she completed a Bachelor of Arts in Social Welfare and a Master’s in Social Work and Administration. She completed a post-master’s certificate program in Palliative Care through California State University and is also a 2015 graduate of the inaugural Cambia UW Palliative Care Certificate Course. In additional to training in palliative care, Elizabeth has completed the clinical ethics certificate program at the University of Washington. When Elizabeth is not working, you can find her traveling the globe or admiring her view of Lake Washington.
Rainy Sauer, MDiv, BCC is a chaplain specializing in oncology palliative care in the Tri-Cities of WA. She has been instrumental in developing their current model of care for palliative patients in the out-patient setting. She received her Masters of Divinity from St. John’s School of Theology and Seminary in Collegeville, MN and went on to complete a residency in Clinical Pastoral Education at Abbot Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, MN. She was accepted as a fellow at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, where she studied medical ethics working primarily with bone marrow and stem cell transplant patients and was fortunate to have the opportunity to work alongside Dr. Stu Farber on his palliative team at the UW Medical Center. In 2012 she was Board Certified by the Association of Professional Chaplains and in 2017 received a Graduate Certificate in Palliative Care from the UW. Rainy is a proud mother of her children and grandchildren, who loves to hike, travel, make wine and practice yoga.
Katie Schlenker, DO is a Clinical Instructor in the UW Division of General Internal Medicine, is an attending physician on the Palliative Care Service at the University of Washington Medical Center. Katie earned her bachelor’s degree in biology and philosophy from Augustana College and her D.O. degree from Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. She completed her Internal Medicine residency at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, OR followed by Palliative Medicine fellowship at the University of Washington. Katie joined the UWMC Palliative Care Service after completing fellowship in 2013, where she has extensive experience working with complex cardiac and bone marrow transplant patients. When Katie is not at work you can find her exploring the northwest with her husband and daughter.
Bruce Smith, MD
Patsy Treece, RN graduated nursing school in 1979 and began working in critical care. She earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree continuing to work in critical care. She joined HMC’s ethic committee in 1995 and earned a certificate in healthcare ethics from the UW. The last 15 years has been spent studying communication and palliative care in the ICU. For fun, Patsy enjoys camping, reading books with her book clubs, volunteering to promote music in schools and scrapbooking.
Jody Waldron, MD
