Former clinician and hospital chaplain, Arion M. Lillard-Green, seeks to shape health policy for equitable end-of-life care
Arion M. Lillard-Green, a health services research doctoral student at George Mason University, has been named an AcademyHealth Diversity Scholar. The program supports the professional development of underrepresented racial/ethnic minority groups in the field of health services research. Mentoring is a core component of the program.
“I value the mentorship that the program brings and wanted to experience being among thought leaders. I also look for opportunities to bring awareness to the need for more research in hospice and palliative care sector,” said Lillard-Green.
With her PhD and through her research, Lillard-Green wants to inform health policy that impacts equitable end-of-life care for persons with life-limiting illnesses and those who care for them. Her research interests are access to care, health disparities and inequities, value-based care and insurance design, quality measurement, and organization performance in hospice and palliative care.
Through the program, Lillard-Green will also attend AcademyHealth’s Annual Research Meeting and be matched with an expert with similar research interests for professional development.
Lillard-Green received her Master of Health Administration from Mason in 2020. She also holds a Master of Theological Studies from Christian Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Indiana University (Bloomington). Prior to her health services research program, she worked with an interdisciplinary team as a hospice chaplain to serve patients at the end-of-life while supporting their families and caregivers in urban and rural areas. She has collaborated with national and local organizations dedicated to overcoming industry challenges in hospice and palliative care.