Our History | The Center for Patient Partnerships

CPP was founded in 2000 on the belief that to improve health care quality, patient-provider interaction must improve, and health care systems can either support or impede that partnership.

Martha “Meg” Gaines, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, survived cancer and transformed her own self-advocacy experience into a model for consumer-centered patient advocacy. Initially, she worked with a handful of cancer patients referred to her by her oncologist. She quickly recognized the potential for this type of advocacy experience to prepare graduate and professional students to learn patient-centered practice.

Working with colleagues from medicine, nursing, and public administration, she drew on the pedagogy of clinical legal training, and the experiential emphasis of health professional and social work training, to develop a new and as yet unique educational center.

Our Logo

Our logo represents a sailboat.

We envision advocacy as the vessel and the patient as the captain of the ship. As patients, we would never dream of leaving the shore without a first-rate navigator, engineer and first mate. Often, we are at the helm and days seem to pass slowly, uneventfully. However, when diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, dangerous seas loom as we face a long and billowy journey through a confusing health care system. We then need the help of our crew to reach safety. When someone else is better skilled to steer, we gladly turn over the helm and either hit the deck to help the crew or go below to seek shelter from the storm.

No matter who is at the helm, the patient is always the captain and all decisions that affect our health care journey are ours to make. We rely profoundly on the knowledge, expertise, advice and counsel of our trusted crew in reaching those decisions. The Center for Patient Partnerships exists to provide the sailboat. It helps the captains choose destinations, identify crews and plan routes that maximize the chance for a safe, efficient journey. As a part of this process, the Center trains navigators, engineers and first mates for the 21st century.

Timeline:

Year

2000	Center for Patient Partnerships (“CPP”) opens office Wallis Foundation provides CPP’s first grant
2001	CPP approved by Law, Medicine, Nursing Schools’ and University Academic Planning Council Students begin advocacy work at CPP Howard and Linda Stern pledge a million dollars to CPP Irving S. Cooper Family Foundation, David L. Klein Jr. Foundation, LLL Foundation provide seed funding
2002	Pete Daly becomes CPP client CPP’s fourteen-member Academic Coordinating Committee assembles
2003	CPP Co-Founder Helene Nelson becomes Secretary of WI Dep’t of Health and Family Services Center receives the UW’s University & Community Partnerships Award
2004	Helen Whitman-Obert – retired oncology nurse, extraordinary colleague succumbs to cancer, generously honoring CPP in her will CPP holds the first annual “If the Shoe Fits” Auction, raising $55,000
2005	Director Meg Gaines named 2005 Woman of Distinction by YWCA CPP hires Associate Director Sarah Davis CPP staff helps secure passage of Senate Bill 288, ensuring coverage for patients who enter clinical trials CPP makes the Sunday New York Times front page (8/14/05) Director Meg Gaines on steering committee for international conference entitled “Where’s the Patient’s Voice in Health Profession Education?” Director invited to join Institute for Healthcare Improvement 100,000 Lives Campaign: Patient, Family, & Consumer Community Task Force Director receives Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation’s Lotus Award Howard S. Stern, brilliant mentor, loyal friend, succumbs to cancer but continues philanthropy CPP begins year long project to address healthcare access issues with local Latino and Hmong communities
2006	Director receives American Cancer Society Lane Adams Quality of Life Award CPP receives Komen Foundation grant to train breast cancer survivors in patient advocacy Center spearheads first meeting of professional and lay patient advocates and educators to launch professional organization Pete Daly receives Volunteer Award from United Way of Dane County
2007	CPP receives second year of funding from Komen to expand training of breast cancer survivor advocates CPP trains human resource (HR) and employee assistance program (EAP) personnel in health advocacy, as part of a pilot program funded by the Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment CPP hires Advocacy Coordinator and launches new advocacy line to streamline intake CPP publishes Body and Spirit: Healing Your Way, a film featuring perspectives on integrating traditional Hmong beliefs and practices with “Western” medicine
2008	CPP receives third year of funding from Komen to provide Survivorship Care Planning workshops to breast cancer and other survivors CPP launches 12-credit Certificate programs in Consumer Health Advocacy for graduate, professional, working, and non-traditional students CPP receives funding from the Division of Continuing Education to explore the creation of online/e-learning patient advocacy curriculum
2009	CPP receives fourth year of funding from Komen to provide Survivorship Care Planning workshops to breast cancer survivors and to develop a free, accessible, online self-advocacy curriculum for Dane County breast cancer survivors.
2010	Center fills new position of Director of Educational Development to lead foray into e-learning; CPP receives fifth year of Komen for the Cure funding to continue offering PlanBeyondCancer.org and AdvocacyforMe.org and develop an advocacy safety net for medically underserved breast cancer survivors in Dane County.
2011	Center fills new position of Director of National Initiatives; Yale Professor Mark Schlesinger joins CPP as visiting scholar while on sabbatical; CPP chosen as a voting member of the Measure Applications Partnership (MAP) Clinician Workgroup convened by the National Quality Forum; CPP receives sixth year of Komen for the Cure funding.