Drs. Jolkovsky & Lalley receive 2018 Caduceus Award
CentraCare Health physicians, Merryn Jolkovsky, MD, and Patrick Lalley, MD, were honored Feb. 28 with the Caduceus Award. This annual award, presented by the Caduceus Society, recognizes the outstanding work of Central Minnesota physicians who exhibit humanitarian medical efforts locally or around the world.
Drs. Jolkovsky and Lalley were recognized because of their advocacy for patients and families during end-of-life care in palliative medicine. Palliative Care, a physician-led service based at St. Cloud Hospital, is a medical specialty that provides patient- and family-centered care through a team approach. Palliative care optimizes quality of life for patients and their families facing the problems associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of assessment, early identification and treatment of pain and other problems — physical, psychosocial and spiritual.
According to CentraCare Health Foundation Vice President of Philanthropy and Community Health Brad Konkler, “Dr. Jolkovsky and Dr. Lalley serve our CentraCare patients with care and compassion, and they are both dedicated doctors and respected leaders. Their advocacy for patients and families during end-of-life care in palliative medicine is one of the many reasons our Caduceus Committee was proud to present this award to them.”
About Dr. Jolkovsky
Dr. Jolkovsky joined St. Cloud Hospital in 1996 as a nephrologist, and her many leadership roles have included: Department of Medicine, Executive Committee of Medical Staff, Chief of Staff, Credentials Committee and member of the By-laws Committee. In 2013, she began advocating and developing the palliative care program and became a palliative care specialist. She led the community effort and organization of Light the Legacy and has served as Chairperson of the Board since its inception. She has been extensively involved in recent years with bringing Advanced Health Care Directives to CentraCare Health. In 2018, she presented at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care: Partnering to Transform Advance Care Planning. She is currently the CentraCare Health Physician Section Director, Transitional Care and medical director for the Palliative Care program.
About Dr. Lalley
Dr. Lalley began at St. Cloud Hospital in 1979 as a family practice physician. His field of practice includes palliative and hospice care. His former roles include: interim CEO at HealthPartners; hospice medical director, St. Cloud Hospital and the medical director at Heartland Hospice & Home Care. He is an advisory board member for Prairie Drifter organic farm in Hutchinson, which provides CSE shares for CentraCare Health employees. He also provides Grand Rounds palliative care education at the Health Plaza for Coborn Cancer Center staff. He has co-authored an article for MN Family Physician Journal on palliative care for family physicians. He has extensive humanitarian work experience, specifically in Bolivia, Peru.
Currently, he is a Catholic Social Services board member and the medical director at Quiet Oaks, where he also volunteers weekly.
About Caduceus Society
The Caduceus Society is a philanthropic guild of the CentraCare Health Foundation. This society is open to Central Minnesota practicing and retired medical staff who make a gift to support the Foundation’s mission of improving health and health care.