Frank D. Ferris, MD, is the executive director of palliative medicine, research and education for the OhioHealth system, working to establish a comprehensive medical education program in palliative care for new physicians and staff to ensure and sustain OhioHealth’s program for the long term, as well as creating a palliative medicine program that will set the standard for the integration of palliative care across the entire health system.
A celebrated clinician-educator, Ferris developed an influential hospital- and home-based palliative care program in Toronto, Canada, that led to a systematic care approach available to everyone in the Province of Ontario. He played a key role in developing palliative care standards and strategies for integrating palliative care into health systems in Canada, the United States, and countries in the developing world in collaboration with the World Health Organization and with the continued support of the U.S. National Cancer Institute and George Soros’ Open Society Foundations.
Ferris played a key role in developing the Education in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (EPEC) and EPEC-Oncology curricula that have been used across the country and internationally to teach physicians and other health professionals. He is past President of the American Association for Cancer Education. Ferris is a recipient of the Golden Jubilee Medal of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II by the Governor General of Canada for his book, A Model to Guide Hospice Palliative Care: Based on National Principles and Norms of Practice. The book also garnered Ferris recognition from the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) when he received the National Leadership Award in 2005 and from the Tbilisi State Medical School in the Republic of Georgia when they awarded him an honorary doctorate degree in 2011.
Ferris received his Bachelor of Science degree with honors from University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada in 1975. He then earned his medical degree from McMaster Medical School in Ontario, Canada and subsequently pursued postgraduate training in internal medicine and radiation oncology at the University of Toronto. He received his fellowship training in pain and symptom management at the Toronto-Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre.