FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 19, 2002

First State-by-State Report Card on End-of-Life Care:

Palliative Care Plays a Leading Role

New York, NY – The first-ever state-by-state report card on end-of-life care, released by the national organization Last Acts, reconfirms what most of us already know. America is doing a mediocre job at best at ensuring good quality-of-life for its sickest people. Nevertheless, the study highlights some promising developments, particularly in the growing role of palliative care.

As a wave of Baby Boomers and their parents move into older age, and more and more Americans live longer but with serious conditions, we face a rapidly growing healthcare crisis. People need control of their pain and symptoms, good coordination of care - and choices. But, as the new study illustrates, America’s healthcare system isn’t set up to deliver.

Even when options exist, most Americans don’t know what to ask for, whom to ask, or even when to ask. But, there are solutions. As the study shows, Connecticut, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C., among others, lead the way by providing progressive and aggressive use of palliative care services.

Palliative care – the vigorous treatment of the pain and symptoms of serious illness – represents one of the bright spots in the study. Five years ago there were almost no palliative care programs in the U.S. The study, however, points up a positive trend: Today, approximately 700 hospitals nationwide offer some type of palliative care program, and slightly over 2,000 report offering pain management services.

“We will not consider ourselves finished until every hospital provides palliative care," said Dr. Diane Meier, Director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care. “This is an enormous accomplishment, but we still have a long way to go.”

Despite the accomplishments, the report indicates that most U.S. states still have too few professionals trained in pain management and palliative care, too little use of palliative care services, and too few patients using hospice. Necessary improvements will hinge on vitally needed changes in healthcare, public policy, healthcare financing, and citizen advocacy. Other needs include more and better trained professionals, supportive practice environments, and more extensive research.

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The Center to Advance Palliative Care is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, providing hospitals and other healthcare settings with the tools and technical assistance to develop hospital-based palliative care programs. Visit the CAPC website at www.capc.org. Data available at www.lastacts.org.

CONTACT: Lisa Morgan, Director of Communications, at 212-201-2675 or lisa.morgan@mssm.edu.