December 2010
Enter Your Operational Data into the National Palliative Care RegistryTM by December 31
Annually, when you register your program, you'll be able to:
- Track your program's structures and processes of care, year after year.
- Generate customized reports.
- Receive a premium listing in the GetPalliativeCare.org Provider Directory.
- Be included in prevalence studies.
Go to Registry.
Hospice and Palliative Care Coalition Named to the National Priorities Partnership
The National Quality Forum (NQF) has appointed Hospice and Palliative Care Coalition to its National Priorities Partnership (NPP). The NPP is a diverse partnership of 48 stakeholders including private and public sector representatives at the national, state, and community level. Its goal is to leverage collective influence to align public and private sector activities with the National Priorities and support implementation. The Partners are uniquely positioned to help achieve National Priorities and Goals, and fundamentally transform the nation's healthcare system. The Center to Advance Palliative Care is also a member of the Coalition. Read NPP's October 2010 report to the Secretary | More about NPP
AAHPM Announces Winner of Presidential Citation
Lynn Hill Spragens, MBA has been selected to receive a Presidential Citation at the upcoming AAHPM/HPNA Annual Assembly in Vancouver, Canada. Presidential Citations are awarded to individuals who have made significant contributions to the field of hospice and palliative medicine. Ms. Spragens is president/chief executive officer of Spragens & Associates, LLC. Through her work for the Center to Advance Palliative Care, Ms. Spragens has helped develop sustainable business models for palliative care in hospitals and health systems nationwide. The innovative cost-avoidance models she has developed for hospitals, the technical assistance tools, and the expert consultation she has provided have resulted in the unprecedented growth of non-hospice palliative care across the United States.
Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, Receives $1.6 Million National Institutes of Health Grant to Help Fund Pediatric Palliative Care
Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota was awarded a five-year $1.6 million grant by the National Institutes of Health (National Cancer Institute) Cancer Education Grants Program.
Children's will use the funds to develop a training program to improve access to, and quality of, pediatric palliative care for children with advanced cancer and other life-threatening conditions. One of CAPC's eight Palliative Care Leadership CentersTM, Children's has one of the largest pediatric pain and palliative care programs in North America, providing care for children at home, in the hospital and in clinics. Learn more.
New Report Shows Nearly One Third of Medicare Patients with Advanced Cancer Die in Hospitals and ICUs; About Half Get Hospice Care
The Dartmouth Atlas recently released its first report on end of life cancer care. The study shows that whether Medicare patients with advanced cancer will die while receiving hospice care, or whether they will die in the hospital varies depending on where they live and where they are treated. Researchers found no consistent pattern or evidence that treatments follow patient preferences, even among the nation's leading academic medical centers. Go to
www.dartmouthatlas.org
JPM Study Finds Cardiologists Fail to Discuss Palliative Care with Late-Stage Heart Failure Patients
A new study in the Journal of Palliative Medicine, "Regional Variations in Palliative Care: Do Cardiologists Follow Guidelines?" reports that cardiologists are often unlikely to discuss palliative care with late-stage heart failure patients. A survey with hypothetical patient scenarios was given to 598 U.S. cardiologists. The study found that less than half of the respondents would discuss palliative care with two elderly patients in late-stage heart failure. Less than a third of the doctors would start or continue palliative care discussions with a 75-year-old patient with stage IV heart failure and non-sustained ventricular tachycardia. Read the report.
Case Study Shows Rehabilitation May Benefit Palliative Care Patients
A recent case study in the journal Palliative & Supportive Care showed that palliative care patients can benefit from rehabilitative therapies. The case, from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, involved a young woman with osteosarcoma and leukemia receiving occupational and physical therapy in the final stages of her life. The authors state, "Rehabilitation specialists are skilled at working with patients to set realistic and meaningful functional goals. Further study on rehabilitation treatment to improve quality of life among patients in palliative care is needed." Read the article.
Reminder to Report Drug Shortage
A quick reminder: if you are experiencing a drug shortage, it is important to report it to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) so it can be tracked and patterns assessed and investigated. The FDA Web site also provides information on current and resolved shortages, as well as discontinued products.
MEETINGS
Date Change Coming! CAPC National Seminar
Details Coming Soon
2011 Annual Assembly of AAHPM and HPNA
February 16-19, 2011 | Vancouver, Canada
Vancouver Convention Center
1055 Canada Place
Vancouver, BC V6C 0C3
Learn More
EDUCATION
NASW Releases New Social Work Guide
National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has released NASW Standards for Social Work Practice with Family Caregivers of Older Adults, designed to enhance social work practice with family caregivers of older adults and to help the public understand the role of professional social work in supporting family caregivers. The standards were developed as part of Professional Partners Supporting Family Caregivers, an initiative conducted in partnership with the AARP Foundation, the U.S. Administration on Aging (AOA), the Family Caregiver Alliance, and the National Association of Social Workers. Read the standards.
CAPC TOOLS, TRAINING & TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Upcoming Audio Conferences
Using Disease or Patient-Based Consultation Triggers
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
1:30-2:30 PM Eastern
Register Now!
POLST/Advanced Care Planning for Palliative Care Services
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
1:30-2:30 PM Eastern
Registration Coming Soon
Palliative Care Leadership CentersTM 2011 Training Dates
Plan ahead for 2011! Palliative Care Leadership CentersTM (PCLC) provides intensive, customized operational training and yearlong mentoring for both start-up and established programs. You can choose the training date and location that's right for you. Sessions fill quickly. Please register early. View the online calendar for training dates.
Get Answers to Your Questions on the CAPC Forum
Get answers from leading palliative care experts. Access CAPCconnectTM to post your questions or ideas. The CAPC online discussion forum is a free resource for health care professionals who want to share information, exchange ideas, and get advice from their colleagues on operational issues affecting their palliative care programs.
Convenient Online Courses
CAPC Campus OnlineTM offers a variety of CME/CE courses that will make a difference to your professional development. Join the hundreds that have enrolled. Courses include: Marketing for Palliative Care Programs; Hospital Cost Avoidance; Calculating Staffing Needs; Billing and Coding; Courses are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Enroll now. $35 per course, per student. Learn more and enroll
HPM Fellows are eligible for free e-Learning courses at capc.org.
New Yorkers — Take Advantage of Funding for CAPC Technical Assistance
As part of its continued efforts to improve New York State's health care system, the New York State Health Foundation has awarded CAPC a grant to help New York state hospitals develop, strengthen and grow strong palliative care programs. New York State hospitals, and hospices with an established hospital palliative care program partnership, are eligible to enroll at no cost for CAPC technical assistance. Space is limited. Funding is currently available for:
Learn more
PALLIATIVE CARE IN THE NEWS
Articles of Interest
About.com Palliative Care Blog, December 7, 2010, Elizabeth Edwards Dies of Breast Cancer by Angela Morrow, RN
Annals of Emergency Medicine, December 2010, Palliative Care in the Emergency Department: New Specialty Weaving Into Acute Care Fabric by Joanne Kennen, Volume 56, Issue 6, Pages A17-A19
PBS FRONTLINE, November 23, 2010 Facing Death
USA Weekend Presents The Doctors, November 21, 2010 Live Your Life Despite Illness
Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, November 20, 2010 Study Finds Terminal Care Programs Need Improving, by Guy Boulton
Miller-McCune, November 16, 2010 For Dying Cancer Patients Geography is Destiny, by Joanne Kenen
The Washington Post, November 16, 2010 Cancer Patients Too Often Die in Hospitals, Study Says, by Rob Stein
Journal of Palliative Medicine, November 11, 2010, Clinical and Financial Impact of a Palliative Care Program at a Small Rural Hospital, Volume 13
Journal of Palliative Medicine, November 11, 2010, Regional Variations in Palliative Care: Do Cardiologists Follow Guidelines? , Volume 13
Critical Care Medicine, September 2010, Models for structuring a clinical initiative to enhance palliative care in the intensive care unit: A report from the IPAL-ICU Project (Improving Palliative Care in the ICU), Volume 38, Issue 9, pp 1765-1772
The Chart, CNN Blog, September 15, 2010 Kids Courageous Facing Death, by Elizabeth Landau
Blogs of Interest
health AGEnda, The John A. Hartford Foundation Blog, November 30, 2010, Supporting Family Caregivers by Amy Berman
Pallimed, November 30, 2010, LVAD Advice and Talking About Palliative Medicine Boards,
by Christian Sinclair, MD
Geripal, November 13, 2010, Autonomy for Frail Elders, by Alex Smith
Join the Center to Advance Palliative Care on Facebook. Follow CAPC (@CAPCpalliative) and Diane E. Meier, MD (@DianeEMeier) on Twitter. Watch CAPC videos on
YouTube for palliative care insights.
Patients and families can join GetPalliativeCare.org on Facebook and Twitter (@GetPalliative)!
|
