Based in Houston, Texas, Jose Diaz-Gomez, MD, has served as chief of the cardiothoracic, mechanical circulatory support, and transplant critical care section at Baylor College of Medicine since 2019. In addition to his work at Baylor, Dr. Jose Diaz-Gomez is an active member of professional groups, such as the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM).

The SCCM has partnered with the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing on an expansive patient- and family-centered research initiative. The collaboration, which will be headed by Vanderbilt’s Ruth Kleinpell, PhD, RN, FAAN, FAANP, FNAP, MCCM, and Marianna LaNoue, PhD, will focus resolving various challenges in patient- and family-focused comparative effectiveness research (PCOR/CER). The Addressing Barriers to Engaging Patients and Caregivers Experiencing Critically Illness to Build Capacity for Patient Centered Outcomes Research is an initiative that will highlight barriers existing for critically ill patients and other individuals in intensive care unit (ICU) environments.

The partnership between SCCM and Vanderbilt will allow for an expansive project that draws on data not just from patients and family, but also from a wealth of research professionals, healthcare clinicians, and other care providers. In addition to the organization’s pooled resources and staff, the project has been made possible thanks to a $250,000 grant from the Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award Program, an extension of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. Additional information about funding for the project can be found online at pcori.org.