In 2021, VitalTalk had to make some adjustments as we continued adapting and responding to a changing health climate. We were grateful to be able to reschedule many courses that had been canceled in the previous year, thus making good on our commitments to the health systems and clinicians we work so closely with. This was a year of catch-up for us financially, and we are happy to be in a strong position and looking forward heading into 2022. 

VitalTalk could not continue our important work without the support of the clinicians, faculty, and institutions that give so much to our community. Of note, in 2021 we concluded grant projects with Cambia Health Foundation and Stupski Foundation and we continued our work with the University of Washington working with the John A. Hartford Foundation, the Center for Advanced Palliative Care and California Health Care Foundation. These wonderful partnerships allowed us to update our curriculum, film webinars and create new material, engage our faculty community in fun and informative Collaboratories, revamp our VitalTips app, and strengthen the digital infrastructure that our courses are built on. We are proud of all that we were able to accomplish in 2021 in partnership with so many who support our mission.

Thanks to the generous support of our funders, we were able to accomplish the following:

• Align empirical research findings about what the public is interested in hearing about the way our field talks about serious illness and end-of-life care—and do it with maximum flexibility for individual sectors to use their own vocabulary.
• Provide communication coaching for clinicians from all specialties and disciplines in how to have difficult conversations with patients and families in times of crisis.
• Provide critical technical support in serious illness communication skills training and coaching for clinicians serving San Francisco and Alameda counties, including those in hard-to-reach institutions.

United States