Boston University School of Public Health’s Center for Health Law, Ethics & Human Rights presents the annual Cathy Shine lecture. The lectureship honors the memory of Cathy Shine and her dedication to the rights of all those in need of care. This year’s event will feature Dr. Heidi B. Kummer (SPH ’04). Dr. Kummer is the founder of the independent practice 3C Patient Advocacy and has served as President of the Patient Advocate Certification Board since 2021.
Born in the US to German parents, Dr. Kummer spent her early years growing up in central Pennsylvania. After her father’s death, the family moved to Bavaria, where she was educated in the German system: nine years of Gymnasium, followed by six years of medical school. Three years of basic research and a public thesis defense earned her a Doctoral Degree/PhD equivalent. She returned to the US for residency training at BUMC, becoming double board certified in Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine. She subsequently joined the staff at Lahey Clinic, with an appointment as Assistant Clinical Professor at Tufts, teaching medical students and residents. Dr. Kummer held various leadership positions in national and international anesthesia and critical care societies, co-edited Critical Care Ethics: A Practice Guide for the Society of Critical Care Medicine and served on several professional ethics committees. In 2002 she attended the Summer Certificate Course in International Health at BUSPH and returned the following year to complete her MPH, concentrating in Health Law, Bioethics and Human Rights. Her capstone paper, Pulling the Plug on Futility, discussed approaches to end-of-life, stressing the importance of health care proxies. In 2010 she received the “Burchardi Leadership Award” jointly sponsored by the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s Anesthesiology Section and the Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists. Working as a bioethics consultant while co-managing a start-up, allowed her to continue to advocate for critically ill family members and friends. In 2018 Dr. Kummer was one of the very first to become Board Certified in Patient Advocacy, starting her Independent Patient Advocacy Practice, 3C Patient Advocacy, shortly thereafter. Elected to the Board of Directors of the Patient Advocate Certification Board in 2019, she was soon appointed Chair of the Exam Commission. She has served as President of the Patient Advocate Certification Board since November of 2021.
George Annas
William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor, Boston University; Director of the Center for Health Law, Ethics & Human Rights, Boston University School of Public Health (MODERATOR)
George Annas
William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor, Boston University; Director of the Center for Health Law, Ethics & Human Rights, Boston University School of Public Health (MODERATOR)
George J. Annas is William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor at Boston University and Director of the Center for Health Law, Ethics & Human Rights at Boston University School of Public Health, and a member of the Department of Health Law, Policy and Management at the School of Public Health. He is also a Professor at the School of Law and School of Medicine. He is author or editor of 20 books on health law and bioethics, including The Rights of Patients (3d ed 2004), Public Health Law (2d ed 2014), American Bioethics (2005), Worst Case Bioethics (2010), and Genomic Messages (2015). He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is the co-founder of Global Lawyers & Physicians, a NGO dedicated to promoting health and human rights.
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