About APS

Clinical Centers of Excellence in Pain Management Awards Program

The American Pain Society Clinical Centers of Excellence in Pain Management Awards Program helps advance the quality of pain management in the United States by recognizing and rewarding excellence in quality clinical care.

Central to the APS vision: “APS envisions a world where pain prevention and relief are available to all people”—this program aims to identify U.S.-based, multidisciplinary teams providing distinguished, comprehensive pain care to serve as examples to other pain management programs.

These awards are given annually and recognize pain-care teams that overcome difficult challenges to provide outstanding, exemplary care for those with chronic pain disorders, acute pain after surgery or trauma and in palliative care settings for pain from cancer and other terminal conditions.

APS is pleased to announce the 2008 CCOE award recipients:

  • UW Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison Pain Care Services, Madison, WI
  • Pediatric Pain Management Center at Oregon Health & Science University/Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Portland, OR
  • PRIDE: Productive Rehabilitation Institute of Dallas for Ergonomics, Dallas, TX
  • Division of Pain Management, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
  • Fairview Pain and Palliative Care Center, University of Minnesota Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN
  • Richard Barrett Pain Management Center, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH

There were also nine honorable mentions in 2008:

  • Whole Child and Family Pediatric Pain, UCLA Pediatric Pain Program
  • Pain Medicine at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
  • Bay Area Pain & Wellness Center
  • Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Pain Medicine
  • Adolf Meyer Chronic Pain Treatment Program at Johns Hopkins
  • Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care, Beth Israel Medical Center
  • Minnesota Head and Neck Pain Clinic, University of Minnesota
  • University of California, San Diego Center for Pain Medicine
  • Jane B. Pettit Pain and Palliative Care Center, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin/Medical College of Wisconsin

To view the 2008 CCOE recipient program descriptions, click here.

Previous CCOE Award Recipients

CCOE Eligibility Requirements

The award program is intended to honor programs or services that exemplify the provision of outstanding clinical care regardless of size. Any U.S. based, multidisciplinary clinical program that provides direct patient care and is primarily focused on the treatment of pain that believe they meet the award criteria are encouraged to apply. Selection of awardees will be based on judgment of the quality of services provided and not size of program. Attempts will be made to balance service excellence with available resources.

Award Criteria

The Clinical Center of Excellence in Pain Management Award honors programs that:

  • Provide care that is patient-centered, state-of-the-art, evidence-based, and safe.
  • Provide appropriate access to multidisciplinary and multimodal care through the involvement of specialists from a variety of disciplines to ensure expert care.
  • Act as local champions to improve pain management in systems of care that are related to the program, and/or are regional or national.
  • Demonstrate innovation and serve as models of excellence in the structure, processes, and outcomes that are critical for excellence in pain management.
  • Actively work with other health care organizations, health care providers, and the community to improve the quality of pain management across the continuum of care.
  • Demonstrate a commitment to advancing and applying current scientific knowledge related to pain and disseminating relevant information to patients, colleagues, and the public.

Honoring our CCOE Programs

The APS will present this prestigious recognition at a special recognition event at the Society’s annual scientific meeting. This year’s awards will be presented at the 2008 APS Annual Scientific Meeting in Tampa, FL, May 8-10, 2008. A special mark of distinction will be provided to each winning program to use (in accordance with APS guidelines).

To purchase a ticket(s) to the gala, go to: www.ampainsoc.org/meeting/annual_08/awards.htm.

CCOE award recipients are ineligible to re-apply for the award for three years.

CCOE Online Application

The online application process will reopen in Fall 2008.

About APS
The APS is a multidisciplinary community that brings together a diverse group of scientists, clinicians and other professionals to increase the knowledge of pain and transform public policy and clinical practice to reduce pain-related suffering.