About the Bioethics Program
Improving care and research through bioethics
In a world of constant medical advancement and limited resources, we face the increasingly difficult task of ensuring children’s well-being and development when making choices about care and research. The Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics is the first in the country to focus on pediatric issues and serves as a national resource for addressing the complex bioethical issues affecting families, healthcare institutions and society. Our interdisciplinary team draws on philosophy, law and social and behavioral sciences, among others, to:
- Conduct groundbreaking research on ethical issues related to pediatric healthcare and clinical research
- Provide expert bioethics consultations for families, healthcare providers, researchers and policymakers
- Develop and present evocative educational programs that fuel useful debate on current bioethical issues
- Lead the next generation of clinicians, researchers and bioethicists to become the best thinkers in pediatric bioethics
The bioethics program encompasses the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics, which is supported by Seattle Children’s, and the Division of Bioethics in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Our program has developed partnerships with the Department of Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Washington School of Medicine as well as with the UW Schools of Law, Nursing and Public Health to accomplish our mission.
History
The Center for Pediatric Bioethics began in 2005 under the leadership of Douglas S. Diekema, MD, MPH. Dr. Diekema has been a faculty member of the Department of Pediatrics since 1993 and chairs Seattle Children’s Institutional Review Board. He served as the center’s interim director from 2005 to 2006. He now serves as the center’s director of education and leads the Clinical Bioethics Fellowship program.
The same year, Seattle Children’s Hospital’s Board of Trustees endowed the center and named it to honor retiring CEO Treuman Katz for his interest in pediatric bioethics.
In August 2006, Benjamin S. Wilfond, MD, joined the Treuman Katz Center for Pediatric Bioethics as director and established the Division of Bioethics in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine.