Page 23 - Delaware Medical Journal - April 2017
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PALLIATIVE CARE
Francis Community, which includes our hospital, physician practices, Family Medicine Residency Program, Home Care, and LIFE program. Our decision was based on the fact that EVERY
staff member who touches a patient has the opportunity to make an impact in service delivery, whether through pain or symptom management, spiritual or psychosocial support, or simply through family experience.
Once you have set your goals, survey your palliative care resources. What tools are at your disposal? Do you have Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) membership and, if not, will your leadership support a membership? Are there educational materials created within your health care system that
you can utilize? CAPC is an excellent palliative care organization with extensive tools. This organization
has served as our primary resource
for palliative care education at Saint Francis. CAPC has developed a series
of courses, each providing CME or
CEU for physicians, nurses, and social workers. The courses address different aspects of palliative care, including pain management, symptom management, developing a palliative care service, care coordination, and communication. Currently, there are roughly 40 easily accessible and comprehensive courses within CAPC. In addition to the courses, CAPC offers webinars and
There are a variety of other organizations, including the Palliative Care Network of Wisconsin and the American College of Surgeons, that also offer resources via the internet.
Many of the principles and practices of palliative care are aimed at reducing pain, dyspnea, distress and anxiety, as well as supporting the patient and family.
STEP 2: IDENTIFY STAFF PASSIONATE ABOUT AND/OR INTERESTED IN PALLIATIVE CARE
All too often, palliative care teams feel alone in their efforts to disseminate information and educate providers about Find out who within your system has an interest or passion in palliative care. Reach out to managers and other leaders within the organization who have a pulse on their departments. Who within their department has expressed this passion? Do any of
the staff members have a background in palliative care or hospice care? Engage these champions as your front line.
STEP 3: BEGIN SMALL
Create a steering committee of experienced and interested clinicians and others. It
is vital to dispel the misconception that palliative care and hospice are one in the same. Palliative care is aimed at making living with chronic illnesses better. Hospice care is aimed at easing the dying process, often, the most pressing need
for patients at the end of life. Many of
the principles and practices of palliative care are aimed at reducing pain, dyspnea, distress, and anxiety, as well as supporting the patient and family.
Your committee should understand the dimensions of palliative care. Select a focus and a scope that is achievable,
taking into consideration your committee members’ time and available resources. Establish a set of goals and milestones. One of the goals of Saint Francis was
to educate a core group of individuals across disciplines. We started with our committee members. Each member needed to complete one or two courses per staff members and assigned courses for them to complete.
on our overall goal. It empowered the staff who were already passionate about this area to serve in a leadership capacity within their departments. It expanded
the reach and pace for palliative care education because there were members from nursing education, the ED, social work, pastoral care, oncology, and medicine. And lastly, because this came from local leadership, there was less resistance and more buy-in from the start.
STEP 4: EXPAND YOUR MEMBERSHIP
Now that there is some momentum within your organization and buzz around palliative care, it is important to survey your membership and identify who is missing from the table. Examples of valuable members are quality, home- based services, nursing, members from your ACO (if participating), and senior leadership. An expanded membership enhances the opportunities for palliative
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