At the 2026 National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) Quality in Action Summit in Chicago, IL, Global Partners in Care (GPIC) supported global engagement by U.S. palliative care leaders in sessions aimed at engaging in equitable partnerships in global health, knowledge sharing between the U.S. and abroad, and how global engagement can spark innovation in patient care here in the U.S.
Global Palliative Care Engagement Workshop
Prior to the summit, 24 U.S. hospice and palliative care leaders gathered for a global palliative care workshop, co-hosted by GPIC and the Eck Institute for Global Health at the University of Notre Dame. Professors Marie Donahue and Paul Perrin co-facilitated the workshop.
Professor Donahue taught on foundational principles of global health and global partnerships, encouraging attendees to think about how they can engage in the global palliative care community in ways that will support care in their communities and abroad. Professor Perrin led participants through a guided activity on global partnership development based on the principles of intentionality, mutuality, and humility. After reflecting on these principles, participants explored how to apply them through their own organizations.
Throughout the day, participants engaged in different activities aimed at building community, examining motivations, knowledge exchange, and fostering equitable collaboration and partnership. Participants also had discussions with University of Notre Dame students who engaged with GPIC through our internship program and heard how their global engagement in palliative care has impacted their professional and personal development.
The workshop concluded with presentations and a panel discussion titled “Reducing the Final Inequity: Improving Access to Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care for All.” Professor Richard Harding, Executive Dean and Professor of Palliative Care, King’s College London, presented on challenges in advancing palliative care globally and what engagement opportunities exist for academic institutions.
Dr. Mark Stoltenberg, Physician and Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital, presented his experiences in partnership development in Latin America and Africa and how building relationships has led to collaborative initiatives that have evolved with partner needs.
Dr. Jim Cleary, Physician and Board Chair, Worldwide Hospice and Palliative Care Alliance, presented his personal reflections on the impact of palliative care and how he has engaged in collaborative partnerships to reduce inequities in access to opioids.
A Global Lens on a Shared Challenge
At the Summit, GPIC’s engagement featured two complementary contributions: Dr. Richard Harding’s plenary address which framed global inequities in palliative and end-of-life care and a global breakout session focused on translating global impact into practical, local innovation.
Professor Harding’s plenary challenged attendees to address unequal access to palliative and end-of-life care worldwide. He highlighted the scale of unmet need and the consistent drivers of high-quality palliative care across settings—person-centered care, community engagement, trained workforces, and measurement that reflects what matters to patients and families. While grounded in global data, the plenary message resonated strongly with the U.S. audience. Workforce shortages, fragmented systems, inequitable access, and misaligned metrics are not uniquely global problems—they are shared challenges that demand shared learning.
Translating Global Insights into Local Solutions
Building on the plenary, GPIC supported a breakout session, “From Global Engagement to Local Impact,” framed by the work of the ongoing Collaborating for Global Impact Initiative. The session focused on how innovations from global settings can inform U.S. practice — especially in rural, frontier, and underserved communities. Joining the GPIC team in the breakout were Dr. Mark Stoltenberg and Dr. Jim Cleary, who shared personal and professional experiences in palliative care to address global inequities.
GPIC’s engagement underscored one of the core themes of the 2026 Quality in Action Summit: advancing quality requires looking beyond traditional boundaries. Connecting global evidence with local challenges reinforced that global palliative care innovation is directly relevant to improving access, equity, and quality in the U.S. As the summit closed, one point was clear: global engagement is not an add-on – it is a strategic asset for U.S – and all palliative care organizations committed to reducing suffering and meeting patients’ and families’ needs.
http://www.globalpartnersincare.org/
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