October 29, 1999

Livingston Taylor

Mitch Albom

With his sometimes whimsical, sometimes emotional music, singer and songwriter Livingston Taylor amused and impressed a capacity crowd at the fourth annual Schwartz Center dinner, held Oct. 19 at the Westin Hotel. Taylor, who along with Mitch Albom, author of Tuesdays with Morrie, entertained more than 1,200 friends and supporters of the center, which is dedicated to promoting and strengthening the relationship between patients and caregivers.

Keynote speaker Albom inspired guests with stories about his mentor and college professor, Morrie Schwartz, in a talk entitled "Tuesdays with Morrie: Lessons for Living." Albom emphasized the importance of finding the time to give of one's self. "When you spend your life giving of yourself – when you put your voice inside someone's head and it becomes ingrained in their memories – then you live on in every person you touch." He commended the Schwartz Center for its dedication to fostering compassionate care.

One of the highlights of this year's dinner was the presentation of the first annual Compassionate Caregiver Award, created to honor a person who displays extraordinary compassion in caring for patients. Scott Pomeroy, MD, PhD, a neuro-oncologist at Children's Hospital, received the award. His nomination was supported by colleagues as well as family members of his young patients.

Two event highlights were the presentation of a video entitled "One Story, Many Voices," which explores the crucial patient-caregiver relationship and spotlights two of the center's programs, and the introduction of the Schwartz Center's executive director Marilyn Yager, who started in her position Oct. 4.

Kenneth B. Schwartz was a prominent health care lawyer who died in 1995 of lung cancer. While battling the disease, Schwartz wrote a poignant article, published in The Boston Globe Magazine,detailing his journey through the health care system and emphasizing the need to preserve and nurture the human connection in health care.