Congratulations to David Steinhorn, MD, professor of pediatrics at the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences, on receiving the 2019 Pioneer in Integrative Medicine Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on Integrative Medicine.
Steinhorn was nominated for his role as a worldwide leader on integrative approaches to palliative and critical care medicine.
“I was very pleased to receive this recognition from my peers across the country,” said Steinhorn. “The mission of medicine is to provide humanistic, compassionate care to patients and their families, and it is greatly enhanced through integrative modalities.”
The award recognizes pioneers in pediatric integrative medicine. Through the award, the Section on Integrative Medicine hopes to raise awareness by publicly acknowledging key figures who have advocated for pediatrics complementary and alternative medicine research, education, and clinical care.
“This award recognizes that Western medicine must embrace other approaches to provide the most comprehensive care, which must include attention to the human beings inside the frail bodies we are charged with caring for,” Steinhorn said. “Western medicine often loses sight of the human reality underlying illness and recovery, tending to view illness solely as a biological process without much consideration for the spiritual and emotional costs of medical care.”
In addition to his role at GW, Steinhorn serves as the medical director of the PANDA Palliative Care Program in the Division of Critical Care at Children’s National Hospital. He also was a founding member of the AAP’s Section on Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
The award will be presented at the Section on Integrative Medicine program during the AAP National Conference and Exhibition, being held Saturday, Oct. 26, in New Orleans.
