Chris Trenholm
Christopher Trenholm (Ph.D., Economics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is a senior economist and associate director for health research at Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. Dr. Trenholm currently serves as project director for the evaluation of the Maximizing Enrollment for Kids (MaxEnroll) Project, a grant initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to encourage best practices among states for enrolling and retaining children in Medicaid and CHIP. Prior to this project, Dr Trenholm served as a principal investigator for the evaluation of the Covering Kids and Families (CKF) Program, a major outreach initiative funded by the RWJF to assist states and communities in enrolling and retaining children eligible in public health insurance. The study design for the evaluation combined statistical methods with qualitative follow-up to identify the most effective methods (best practices) for enrolling eligible children. Dr. Trenholm applied similar methods to an earlier evaluation of outreach efforts for a multi-year evaluation of the CHIP, funded the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Dr. Trenholm also led a major study of enrollment, retention, and disenrollment for the Congressionally Mandated Evaluation of CHIP, based on a survey of nearly 18,000 CHIP enrollees and disenrollees across 10 states.
For individuals living with complex, often chronic conditions, and their families, palliative care can provide relief from symptoms, improve satisfaction and outcomes, and help address critical mental and spiritual needs during difficult times. Now more than ever, there is growing recognition of the importance of palliative care services for individuals with serious illness, such as advance care planning, pain and symptom management, care coordination, and team-based, multi-disciplinary support. These services can help patients and families cope with the symptoms and stressors of disease, better anticipate and avoid crises, and reduce unnecessary and/or unwanted care. While this model is grounded in evidence that demonstrates improved quality of life, better outcomes, and reduced cost for patients, only a fraction of individuals who could benefit from palliative care receive it. 
