Hospice Buffalo CEO to Speak at Trocaire’s December 2018 Commencement

Healthcare News Speaking Engagements Special Event
Dr. Christopher Kerr, MD, Ph.D.
Dr. Christopher Kerr, MD, Ph.D.

Trocaire’s Commencement Committee is proud to announce that Dr. Christopher Kerr, MD, Ph.D., will serve as speaker for the college’s December Commencement on Dec. 17, 2018. Dr. Kerr serves as Hospice Buffalo‘s CEO and Chief Medical Officer.

“We believe that Dr. Kerr’s knowledge and experience is a perfect fit to motivate and educate our December 2018 graduates,” the committee said in a statement.

Dr. Kerr joined Hospice Buffalo in 1999 as medical director for its 22-bed inpatient unit and served in that capacity until 2011, when he was appointed Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Kerr was born and raised in Toronto, Canada and comes from a long line of physicians, of which he is now the fifth generation. He has an undergraduate degree in psychology, a doctorate of medicine, a PhD in neurobiology and completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Rochester. Dr. Kerr received numerous awards throughout training that recognized his clinical performance, as well as his success as an educator and scientist.

According to the Hospice Buffalo website, Dr. Kerr’s background in research has evolved towards the human experience of illness as witnessed from the bedside, specifically patient’s dreams and visions at the end of life. The results of his studies generated enormous response in the non-medical community, both nationally and internationally, through coverage that has included the New York Times, Huffington Post, The Atlantic, BBC, Scientific American and Psychology Today.

Dr. Kerr has overseen the integration and expansion of palliative care into local hospitals and developed one of the nation’s largest home-based palliative care programs, Home Connections, and Essential Care for Children. He has also lectured and published on innovative program models that are designed to better align patient/family services to the complexity of needs inherent to advanced illness.

“It is a privilege to lead the dedicated employees and volunteers of this organization who bring such outstanding care and compassionate support to literally hundreds of people in our community each and every day,” he states on the website.