New York State has just passed a Palliative Care Act. It was enacted into law as part of the just-completed
2007-2008 budget. This monumental program, which was vetoed last year, will receive a $4.6 million appropriation.

At a June 8 Congressional briefing, CAPC Director Diane Meier, MD, called for increased funding for palliative care research and more policies to improve access to and quality of palliative care. The briefing, which was sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform, focused on achieving improved quality of care for the seriously ill across health care settings.

As one of a panel of experts, Dr. Meier urged the following:

• Improve quality of care
• Allocate research funding to NIH for palliative medicine
• Reintroduce the Palliative Care Training Act
• Fund palliative medicine fellowships
• Improve access to care
• Provide financial incentives to doctors and nurses providing palliative care
• Offer financial incentives to hospitals that provide palliative care
• Include palliative care in hospital accreditation requirements

CAPC's first live webinar is a real-time, interactive audio and visual presentation held "via the web." All you need to participate is a computer with a high-speed Internet connection, the ability to use your mouse and a phone. Interactive activities and a PowerPoint presentation will accompany this webinar.

Quality Improvement in Palliative Medicine: Using Rapid Cycle Techniques to Improve Care — and Have Fun!

Tuesday, July 17, 2007
1:30 - 3:00 PM Eastern

Featured Speaker:
David Levin, MD
Senior Medical Director
Sentara Healthcare

The National Palliative Care Research Center (NPCRC), together with the American Cancer Society (ACS), recently funded awards of $1.5 million in research grants to researchers at ten institutions. The awards are the first issued by these organizations to fund studies aimed at palliative care research. The studies will be conducted over the next two years.

The new collaborative initiative is designed to support clinician investigators conducting patient-oriented research in palliative care, in hopes of bringing more funding from federal agencies, which have supported some research in palliative care, but for whom it is not a priority area. Pilot data results are typically needed before a federal agency will consider funding a research project.

To learn more about the NPCRC and ACS 2007 Grantees, and their research projects, visit http://www.npcrc.org/grantees/.

Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center have found that early palliative care interventions can reduce the length of stay for seriously ill patients in the medical intensive care unit (MICU) by more than seven days without having an impact on mortality rates.

The study looked at the impact of palliative care interventions on all 191 patients admitted to the MICU at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, NY, between March 2004 and March 2005, who were identified as having a serious illness and at high risk of dying.

Patients admitted during the first phase of the study received a palliative care consultation only after a MICU physician referral, as was the standard practice prior to the study. High-risk patients admitted during the second phase received a proactive palliative care consultation shortly after admission. The study found that patients in the proactive phase had significantly shorter lengths of stay in the MICU than those in the first phase, while there was no difference between the two groups on total length of stay in the hospital or mortality rates.

In addition to improving quality of care, proactive palliative care consultation in the MICU has an unintended, yet relevant, benefit of financial savings. Extrapolating from the study's findings, the intervention potentially saved approximately 1,400 MICU patient days at a savings of around $450 per day.

To view this article, visit http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070613 112355.htm.

In May 2007, American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine's (AAHPM) College of Palliative Care (CPC) awarded funding to 12 applicants of the CPC Scholars Program. The program will fund two physicians, five nurses, and five social workers to participate in the Annual Retreat and Research Symposium of the National Palliative Care Research Center, which is co-sponsored by the CPC and the American Cancer Society.

The retreat will be held September 17-19, 2007 in Park City, UT. Its goal is to advance the scientific endeavors of those who are or will become independent investigators actively involved in palliative care research. To learn more about the CPC and its programs, visit www.aahpm.org/about/college.html.

The CPC will once again fund physicians, nurses and social workers and their senior mentors from another institution who will benefit from regular contact over the course of one year. Mentor/mentee awardees will receive a $1,000 honorarium for the mentor and will be reimbursed up to $3,500 in mentoring-related travel expenses, per pair. Funding will be provided from August of 2007 until July of 2008.

To learn more, visit http://www.aahpm.org/about/YearLongMentors hip.html.

Trustee Magazine, a publication of the American Hospital Association (AHA) targeted to the C-suite, published a comprehensive article on palliative care, "Care with Compassion," in its May 2007 issue. The article presents a clear picture of the rapid growth trend and benefits of palliative care programs for hospitals and their C-suite leaders.

Use this article to:

• Prompt a report/discussion with your hospital leadership regarding how your hospital measures up to its competitors with regard to palliative care
• Bolster support and strategic placement of your program

The Medical College of Wisconsin is now accepting applications for a Clinical Fellowship in Adult Palliative Medicine for 2008-2009. This one-year fellowship trains physicians to become skilled clinicians in palliative medicine and provides additional training in education, quality improvement, and advocacy work.

For more information, visit http://www.mcw.edu/display/router.asp? docid=196 or contact Rose Hackbarth at 414-805-4607, rhackbar@mcw.edu.

The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) has released the fourth edition of its Primer of Palliative Care publication. Newly updated and expanded, the Primer of Palliative Care includes information on pain management; dyspnea; nausea and vomiting; constipation; delirium; anorexia; anxiety and depression; spiritual and existential suffering; delivering bad news; evaluating requests for hastened death; and managing the actively dying patient. Summary tables and lists of key evidence- based references are also included.

For more information about this publication, visit www.aahpm.org.

Dr. Diane E. Meier was recognized in New York Magazine - Best Doctors 2007 for her clinical work in the field of palliative medicine.

The Board of Directors of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) honored Diane E. Meier, MD, with the NHPCO 2007 Founders Award. The award recognizes individuals of national or international stature with longevity and inspiration in the hospice and palliative care movements - who have demonstrated tenaciousness in spite of setbacks and evidenced a pioneer spirit in opening the frontiers of health care and hospice and palliative care. Past recipients include Florence Wald,
Dr. Balfour Mount, Dame Cicely Saunders and Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.

Meyers, S. Care with compassion, Trustee Magazine, May 2007.

Strikowsky, M. Growing field of medicine coordinates care for chronically ill, The National Academies: Science in the Headlines, May 4, 2007.

Szabo, L. Palliative workers team up to ease the pain, USA Today, April 26, 2007.

Fortin, J. Class trains doctors for the toughest conversation, CNN, April 23, 2007.

The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), in collaboration with the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA), is hosting its Annual Assembly January 30 - February 2, 2008, in Tampa Bay, FL. AAHPM and HPNA invite the submission of proposals for papers and posters in a specified range of topics. Submissions will be accepted via the AAHPM website, between
June 15 - July 16, 2007.

To learn more, visit www.aahpm.org.

Policies and Procedures in Hospital Palliative Care
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
1:30-2:30 PM Eastern

Featured Speakers:
Christine S. Ritchie, MD, MSPH
Associate Professor of Medicine
Director, Palliative and Supportive Care Section
Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics and Palliative Care
Director, Center for Palliative Care
The University of Alabama at Birmingham

Rodney O. Tucker, MD
Assistant Professor
Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics and Palliative Care
Medical Director, UAB Palliative and Comfort Care Unit
The University of Alabama at Birmingham

More information coming soon!

It's not too late to jump-start your palliative care program this year by training at one of six Palliative Care Leadership Centers^SM (PCLC).

The 2007 PCLC training dates are included below. To learn more about PCLC and which program is right for you, click here.

We encourage you to register soon, while sessions are still available. CME credits are available for physicians.

Fairview Health Services - Minneapolis, MN
August 15-17
October 17-19

Medical College of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, WI
August 22-24
October 24-26
December 19-21

Mount Carmel Health System - Columbus, OH
October 4-5

Palliative Care Center of the Bluegrass - Lexington, KY
August 22-24
September 19-21
October 10-12
November 7-9

University of California, San Francisco -
San Francisco, CA
October 25-26

VCU Massey Cancer Center - Richmond, VA
September 24-25
November 12-13