John J. Goodill, M.D. — Section Chief, Pain and Palliative Care
John J. Goodill, M.D., FACP, FCCP, is the chief of Christiana Care’s Pain and Palliative Care Section.
Dr. Goodill started the Pain Management and Palliative Care Program in 2004 and leads an interdisciplinary team that provides consultations for hospital patients who are in the advanced stages of diseases such as cancer, renal failure, heart failure and dementia. The team also works with patients who have chronic critical illnesses or failure of several organ systems.
The team’s mission is to relieve suffering and maximize quality of life through symptom management; improved communication and coordination of care; and provision of psychosocial and emotional support services. The team includes physicians, nurse practitioners and chaplains.
Dr. Goodill earned his medical degree in 1982 from Hahnemann University, which is now part of Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia. He completed his residency in internal medicine in 1985 at Christiana Care. In 1987, he completed a two-year fellowship in pulmonary medicine through Brown University at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, R.I.
He joined Christiana Care in 1987 as an active staff member in the practice of pulmonary/critical care medicine. Dr. Goodill has worked in private practice as a pulmonary medicine specialist since 1987. Initially in solo practice, he joined Pulmonary Associates in 2000 and that practice is now part of Christiana Care Health System. He is board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary disease and hospice and palliative care. He is a fellow in the American College of Physicians and the American College of Chest Physicians.
He is a clinical instructor at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. He is director of the Adult Cystic Fibrosis Program at Christiana Care. Dr. Goodill also has been the chair of the Christiana Care Ethics Committee since 1996.
His special interests include: general internal medicine and teaching; public health; medical ethics; and obstructive airways diseases such as cystic fibrosis and asthma. He also is interested in holistic pain management and complementary/alternative therapies, with a particular focus on the interaction between the mind and body.
In addition to his clinical work, he is actively involved in the Medical Society of Delaware. He serves on the group’s Board of Directors and its Ethics Committee. He also chairs its Environmental and Public Health Committee.