Honoree to be announced
Compassionate Caregiver of the Year
31st Annual
Kenneth B. Schwartz
Compassionate Healthcare Dinner
Local Roots. Global Reach.
Tuesday, October 27, 2026 • The Westin Boston Seaport
425 Summer Street, Boston, MA
Welcome
Care becomes lasting when we carry it forward.
Join us for an evening that honors the caregivers, advocates, and innovators who keep compassion at the heart of healthcare. Your support sustains resources that help care teams show up for patients when it matters most.
Dear Friends,
We are honored to welcome you to our 31st Annual Kenneth B. Schwartz Compassionate Healthcare Dinner. This year marks three decades of advancing a fundamental truth: healing requires both rigorous science and the deeply human connection of compassionate care. Your presence reflects our shared belief that everyone deserves this integration of science and humanity in healthcare.
Tonight we celebrate the recipients of our National Compassionate Caregivers of the Year® Award and welcome our keynote speaker, Stephen Trzeciak, MD, MPH, recipient of our inaugural Compassion Champion Award. These honorees demonstrate what’s possible when clinical excellence meets genuine human connection, allowing caregivers to lead with both their minds and hearts.
Your generosity directly advances our mission by supporting vital resources like our Schwartz Rounds® and Stress First Aid programs, as well as by underwriting research, education, and training initiatives that allow healthcare teams to expand their capacity for compassionate care delivery. This year, funds raised will expand our services into new parts of the healthcare continuum, both here in the U.S and abroad. Our goal is to expand our reach to hundreds of thousands of clinicians and patients who deserve healing relationships at the center of their care.
As Ken Schwartz wrote, “Each one of us wants not simply the best possible care for our body but for our whole being.” This insight has never been more vital than today. We’re grateful for champions like you standing beside us as we work to keep compassion at the heart of healthcare for generations to come.
Thank you for your steadfast partnership in this vital mission.
Michael Gustafson, MD, MBA
Jean-Paul A. Rebillard
Ellen R. Cohen
Support our Cause
Support the Schwartz Center
Your generosity helps sustain vital programs that strengthen the well-being of healthcare professionals — so they can be there for their patients when it matters most.
Please Give TodayAn Evening Together
The art and science of compassion
WELCOME PERFORMANCE
BOSTON CHILDREN'S CHORUS
OVERVIEW OF TONIGHT'S PROGRAM
TOM STEBBINS<br><span class="opacity-70">Emcee</span>
THE PATIENT I'LL NEVER FORGET
2026 NCCY AWARD RECIPIENTS
Honoree to be announced
Compassionate Caregiver of the Year
Honoree to be announced
Compassionate Caregiver of the Year
CELEBRATING THE NCCY RECIPIENTS
LUKE SATO, MD<br><span class="opacity-70">Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, CRICO</span>
CELEBRATING 30 YEARS
ELLEN R. COHEN, MSW<br><span class="opacity-70">Schwartz Center Founder</span>
THE IMPACT OF THE SCHWARTZ ROUNDS PROGRAM
MARSHALL MEDICAL CENTER
SUPPORTING THE SCHWARTZ CENTER
JEAN-PAUL A. REBILLARD<br><span class="opacity-70">Schwartz Center Board Chair;<br>President, MedPro Specialty, MedPro Group</span>
PRESENTATION OF THE SCHWARTZ COMPASSION CHAMPION AWARD
MICHAEL GUSTAFSON, MD, MBA<br><span class="opacity-70">CEO, The Schwartz Center</span>
THE ART AND SCIENCE OF COMPASSION
STEPHEN TRZECIAK, MD, MPH<br><span class="opacity-70">Co-Author, “Compassionomics”</span>
CLOSING AND DESSERT RECEPTION
TOM STEBBINS<br><span class="opacity-70">Emcee</span>
Generous Contributions
Leadership & Donor List
We gratefully acknowledge the extraordinary commitment of our sponsors and donors.
Program Coordination
Event Committee
Robyn Begley, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, Former, Chief Executive Officer, AONL; Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, AHA
Joshua Boger, PhD
Ellen R. Cohen, MSW Founder, Schwartz Center Board
Wendy Cohen, LICSW
Robert Coughlin, Managing Director, JLL
Ethan Crain Co-Lead, U.S. Healthcare Practice, Lockton
Rushika Fernandopulle, MD, MPP Co-founder and Former CEO, Iora Health
Mishele and Robert Fields Executive Vice President & Chief Clinical Officer, Beth Israel Lahey Health
Melissa Fitzpatrick, MSN, RN, FAAN President, Kirby Bates Associates
Betsy Pingree Frawley and James M. Litton
Mary and Tom Grape Founder, Chairman and CEO, Benchmark Senior Living
Elizabeth L. B. Greene Partner, Mirick
Brent L. Henry Member, Mintz
Michele R. Klau, RNCS The Danielsen Institute at Boston University
Elizabeth Maringer and Jay Shiland Partner, MTS Health Partners LP
Sharon McNally Chief Executive Officer, Camp Harbor View Foundation
Ann Muschett and Michael Blau Former Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP
Jean-Paul A. Rebillard Schwartz Center Board Chair; President, MedPro Speciality, MedPro Group
Mark Reynolds Chief Executive Officer, CRICO
Alan and Susan Solomont
Colette and Daniel Stanzler
Marjorie and Paul Stanzler
Kathy and Tony Starr Member, Mintz
Elizabeth Vernaglia, PhD, and Lawrence Vernaglia Partner, Foley and Lardner LLP
Lynn Wiatrowski Former Executive Vice President, Bank of America
Keynote Speaker
Speaker to be announced
Recipient, Schwartz Compassion Champion Award
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National Recognition
Voices of compassion
Since 1999, the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare has honored extraordinary healthcare professionals from across the country who embody the characteristics of compassionate care and whose professional achievements have helped to create healing healthcare environments for patients, families, colleagues, and communities.
The Schwartz Center is grateful to CRICO for its generous support of the National Compassionate Caregivers of the Year Award. For close to 50 years, CRICO has provided industry-leading medical professional liability coverage, claims management, and patient safety resources to all of the Harvard medical institutions and their affiliates, and is a recognized leader in evidence-based risk management.
Honoree to be announced
Compassionate Caregiver of the Year
Honoree to be announced
Compassionate Caregiver of the Year
Honoree to be announced
Compassionate Caregiver of the Year
The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare
What We Do
Our Mission is to partner with healthcare organizations to advance compassion for patients, care teams, and their healing relationships.
Our Vision is to be a global leader in championing compassion for all who seek and provide healthcare.
Support the Schwartz Center
Kenneth B. Schwartz
History
The Schwartz Center reflects the vision of Ken Schwartz, a Boston healthcare attorney who died of lung cancer at age 40 and found that what mattered to him most was the human connection he felt with his caregivers, which he said made “the unbearable bearable.” He established the Schwartz Center in 1995 – just days before his death – to ensure that all patients and families are treated with compassion.
Remembering Our Friends
In Memoriam
Betsy and Stephen Corman
Betsy and Stephen Corman were cherished friends of the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare. Together with his late wife Betsy, Steve made a lasting contribution by naming the Schwartz Center in his will. Steve and Betsy’s extraordinary commitment to advancing compassionate healthcare led to the creation of the Corman IMPACT Honors, a program that has recognized and elevated programs that promote innovative, compassionate care.
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Extended Gratitude
Special Thanks
The Schwartz Center is grateful to everyone who helped make this 30th Annual Dinner a success by contributing time and in-kind support.