Neil Michael Ellison , M.D. , FAAHPM
Director, Palliative Medicine
Practicing Specialties:
Palliative Medicine
Medical Oncology , Board Certified, 1979
Palliative Medicine , Board Certified, 1997
Locations
Geisinger Medical Center Palliative Medicine
100 N Academy Ave
Danville, PA 17822
Phone: 570-271-6045
Practice Philosophy:
The Palliative Medicine Program emphasizes compassion and state-of-the-art medical care for patients with incurable and often terminal disease. The program focuses on these guiding principles: maintaining patient comfort, maximizing quality of life, ensuring patient dignity and autonomy, providing support and education for pateints' families and other caregivers, extending educational and volunteer opportunities to health professionals and community members.
Clinical Interests:
Medical and psychological management of symptoms and issues associated with incurable disease, usually with a prognosis of two years or less.
Management of symptoms related to incurable disease including pain, shortness of breath, nausea and vomiting, intestinal obstruction, delirium and confusion, constipation, nutritional issues, and appropriate hospice referral issues.
Patient and family discussions and decisions regarding incurable disease issues.
Related Interests:
Pain:
Providing educational programs for health care providers on topics including pain, ethical issues in pain management, pain assessment and management, cancer pain management, advanced pain management.
Palliative medicine:
Establishing a comprehensive palliative medicine program, breaking bad news and other difficult communication issues, ethical issues in pallliative medicine, symptom management at the end of life, artificial hydration and nutrition, overview of Hospice, death pronouncement workshop for house staff, artificial hydration and nutrition, psychosocial conferences, palliative and supportive medicine case discussions
Providing educational programs for the community (the public as well as local college students) in end-of-life issues
Promoting interactions between generations within the community
Encouraging non-financial legacy work and discussion of difficult end of life issues such as treatment options and advance directives.
Medical School:
SUNY Upstate Medical U. 1973
Residency:
Medical College of Virginia Hospitals 1975
Fellowship:
National Institutes of Health 1978
Professional Memberships:
American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
(Fellow)
Faculty Appointments:
Clinical professor of medicine, Temple University School of Medicine
Awards:
Best Doctors in America: 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th (2004) editions
Best Doctors in America 2007-2008
