E-News December 2006
In this issue...
NEWS
1. Supportive Voice Special Edition Off the Press
2. Hospital Palliative Care Programs Continue Rapid Growth
3. Virginia Initiative for Palliative Care Receives Funding for Two More Years
4. Mercy Survey on Palliative Care Receives International Attention
5. New Study Helps Dispel Myth That Opioids Hasten Death
6. Global Mapping of Palliative Care: Significant New Report
7. Coalition Web site Trends
OPPORTUNITIES
8. Proposals Deadline Approaches for NHPCO Conference
RESOURCES
9. New Initiative to Provide Advance Care Directives to Ethnically and Culturally Diverse Communities
10. Taking Care – Ethical Caregiving in Our Aging Society
11. Online Continuing Education in Palliative Care
READINGS
12. Older Husbands as Caregivers
CONFERENCES
13. The Financial Performance of PACE Programs
14. PACE-Provider Applications – Everything You Wanted to Know
15. Moving PC into the ED
16. Delving Deeper into Death & Dying
17. Catholic Health Care Ethics
18. 10th Annual Practical Applications of New Agents in Oncology
19. Palliative Medicine 2007, 11th Annual International Symposium
20. 92nd Catholic Health Assembly: Touching Lives, Healing Communities
NEWS
1. Supportive Voice Special Edition Off the Press
The fall edition of Supportive Voice, featuring the Coalition’s Spirituality Initiative, has arrived from the printer and is ready for mailing. Copies were sent to those on the mailing list in early December. If you’d like to be added to the list to receive a copy, as well as future issues of the quarterly publication, please email peggy.Berwick@providence.org
2. Hospital Palliative Care Programs Continue Rapid Growth
Hospitals continue to implement palliative care programs at a rapid pace, according to a Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) analysis of the latest data released in the 2006 American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Survey of Hospitals. The CAPC analysis shows that 1240 hospitals nationwide provide palliative care programs today. This is compared to 632 programs in 2000–a five-year increase of 96%. Ten years ago there were almost no hospital palliative care programs in the U.S. This continuous growth trend is very good news because if we are going to meet the needs of our aging population, every hospital must have a program.” said Dr. Diane Meier, Director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care.
Of the 4,103 hospitals appropriate for palliative care programs (psychiatric and rehab hospitals are excluded):
· 30% have a program
· 50% with over 75 beds have a program
· 70% with over 250 beds have a program
· 57% of hospitals with a cancer program approved by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) have a program
· 75% of Council of Teaching Hospitals (COTH) members have a program
· 46% of hospitals in cities with a population of 1-2.5 million have a program
Larger hospitals, academic medical centers, not-for-profit hospitals (including those affiliated with the Catholic Church) and VA hospitals are significantly more likely to develop palliative care programs as compared to for-profit hospitals. By 2030, it is expected that the number of older Americans will have more than doubled to 70 million — or one in every five Americans. With the availability of advanced medical technologies this growing number of older adults will live longer, but often with serious chronic illnesses and ongoing pain and symptoms. Palliative medicine is widely viewed as a solution to this mounting problem.
(CAPC Press Release)
3. Virginia Initiative for Palliative Care Receives Funding
The Virginia Initiative for Palliative Care, VIPC, a free palliative and hospice care training program for health care professionals in Virginia, has received funding to continue for two more years. This program, co-developed by the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and Capital Hospice of Falls Church, Va., provides free, highly individualized training to doctors, nurses, chaplains, social workers and other professionals who seek tangible ways to improve patient care. The program is unique in that each training session is limited to two attendees to allow for the most immersive experience possible in palliative care and hospice settings. There is no time spent in the classroom. Training is individualized so that attendees will be paired with professionals who best match their interests. Chaplains round with chaplains, pain specialists with pain specialists. All attendees learn how palliative care addresses Joint Commission (or JCAHO) pain and safety standards. The program includes a free take-home toolkit of useful information and complimentary interdisciplinary mentoring is available for three months following the program. For more information or to receive an application, contact Carrie Cybulski at Massey; (804) 628-1918; ccybulski@mcvh-vcu.edu.
4. Mercy Survey on Palliative Care Receives International Attention
Results of Mercy Health Center’s survey of nurses’ attitudes about caring for the dying patient are published in the December issue of The Journal of Palliative Care. Conducted at Mercy Health Center in Edmond, OK, of the 150 nurses who responded to the survey, scores ranged from 89 to 91 percent of nurses stating they experience apprehension when caring for dying patients. The survey results are not indicative of the care patients receive as Mercy Health Center’s patient satisfaction scores are in the upper 90 percentile range, according to Press Ganey. Still, Mercy nurses identified a problem when caring for dying patients. The findings are likely indicative of the nursing industry nationwide, contends the article, noting that ”when nurses deal with dying patients, they experience more anxiety, which often indicates they need more education and greater support systems.” The study received broad attention in June at an international conference on palliative care in Hanzhou, China.
5. New Study Helps Dispel Myth That Opioids Hasten Death
The belief that the administration of opioids (including morphine) hastens death can be a significant barrier to effective pain management for dying patients. A new study appearing in the December issue of the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management suggests that the timing of death among patients with advanced illness involves a complex interplay of variables and that effective opioid use actually poses little risk of hastened death. Stephen Connor, vice president of research and international development for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and a co-author of the study commented, “This study reassures clinicians that their effective use of opioids in the seriously ill will not hasten death and will lead to better quality care. We all want to be kept comfortable and pain free at the end of our lives.”
Extensive data pertaining to clinical outcomes during end-of-life were collected as part of the organization’s National Hospice Outcomes Project, a prospective longitudinal study of patients admitted to hospice programs, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. For the complete article, please visit the NHPCO Web site, http://www.nhpco.org/i4a/pages/Index.cfm?pageID=5070
6. Global Mapping of Palliative Care: Significant New Report
Mapping Levels of Palliative Care Development: A Global View, has been issued by the International Observatory on End of Life Care at Lancaster University, UK. This significant report offers a comprehensive assessment of global hospice-palliative care service and availability. Findings indicate that half of the 234 countries surveyed have established one or more hospice-palliative care services. Yet only 15 percent, 35 countries, have achieved a measure of integration with wider mainstream service providers. In 33 percent, 78 countries, no palliative care activity was identified. A number of maps and charts that illustrate the findings are included in the document. The report calls for continued efforts to support policy and service development, a broader evidence base for informed decision-making, and a cohesive system of service identification. This study was jointly commissioned by Help the Hospices (UK based) and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. To download Mapping Levels of Palliative Care Development: A Global View, and to view the entire document, please visit the NHPCO Web site, http://www.nhpco.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3255
7. Coalition Web site Trends
Since launching the new Coalition Web site in June 2006, the site has experienced 56,000 visits (through November 2006), which translate to an average of 306 visits per day with an average time of 3.33 minutes per visit. The pages viewed in order of frequency are the Home page, E-News page, Member page, Long-Term Care page and Leading Practices. Visitors have accessed the site most often directly via the URL, Google search and MSN search. Plans are in the works to make the site even more user-friendly and graphically inviting. If you’ve yet to visit, simply click on www.supportivecarecoalition.org
OPPORTUNITIES
8. Proposal Deadline Approaches for National Hospice and Palliative Care Summer Conference
Proposals accepted through December 29, 2006
Proposals are being accepted that explore the expertise and experience in meeting psychosocial, bereavement and spiritual needs at the end of life for the NHPCO summer conference on July 30, 2007 in Albuquerque, NM. Workshops will be 90-minute interactive sessions that demonstrate participant involvement in the learning experience. For more information, please visit www.nhpco.org/i4a/pages/Index.cfm?pageID=5056
RESOURCES
9. New Initiative to Provide Advance Care Directives to Ethnically and Culturally Diverse Communities
A collaboration of health care organizations is working to help eliminate language barriers to end-of-life decision-making for individuals within ethnically and culturally diverse communities nationwide. Organizations involved include United Health Foundation, Aging with Dignity, the American Hospital Association and National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Aging with Dignity's well-regarded document Five Wishes has been translated into Chinese (traditional and simplified), Arabic, Albanian, Bengali, Croatian, French, Haitian Creole, Gujarati, Hindi, Hmong, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Urdu and Vietnamese. In addition, a Five Wishes outreach effort will begin in 38 states during the first half of 2007. Aging with Dignity's Web site.
10. Taking Care – Ethical Caregiving in Our Aging Society
This free publication, by The President’s Council on Bioethics, seeks to gain attention for a burgeoning social problem and to offer ethical guidance regarding the care of elders who can no longer care for themselves. To order your copy or peruse an electronic version, please visit http://www.bioethics.gov/reports/taking_care/index.html
11. Online Continuing Education in Palliative Care
Excelsior College offers continuing education units for health care workers seeking to enhance their hospice and palliative care skills through online courses. These CEU's have been approved by the New York State Nurses Association, an accredited provider of nursing continuing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.
https://www.excelsior.edu/portal/page?_pageid=57,250162&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
READINGS
12. Older Husbands as Caregivers
Factors Associated With Health and the Intention to End Home Caregiving
The purpose of this study, based on Pearlin et al.'s model, was to determine the factors associated with the health of older husband caregivers and with their intention to end home care giving for their wives. This study provides avenues for interventions sensitive to male caregivers. Research on Aging, Vol. 29, No. 1, 3-31. To read an abstract, http://roa.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/29/1/3
CONFERENCES
13. The Financial Performance of PACE Programs
January 9 / 2-3 pm EST
Sponsored by Health Dimensions Group
Presented by Bob Harvey, CEO, Via Christi Senior Services and Tom Stitt, Director of Financial Systems at Health Dimensions. To register for this free seminar, call Robin Pfeifer, 763-537-5700.
14. PACE-Provider Applications – Everything You Wanted to Know
January 19 / 2-3 pm EST
Sponsored by Health Dimensions Group
To register for this free seminar, call Robin Pfeifer, 763-537-5700.
15. Moving PC into the ED: Ensuring the Right Care for Seriously Ill Patients – Right from the Beginning
Audioconference
January 11, 2007 / 1:30-2:30 pm EST 10:30-11:30 am PST
Sponsored by Center to Advance Palliative Care
Featured speakers are Sharol Herr, RN, MA, Palliative Nurse Clinician and Education Coordinator at Mount Carmel Health System; Philip H. Santa-Emma, MD, Medical Director, Palliative Care Services at Mount Carmel; and J Brian Cassel, PhD, Senior Analyst at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center.http://www.capc.org/support-from-capc/audio-conf/01-11-07-audio
16. Delving Deeper into Death & Dying
January 2007 / Oregon & Hawaii
Sponsored by PESI HealthCare
Highlights include the use of aggressive treatment in the terminally ill, caring for the patient with no advance care plan, the death experience, and spiritual and cultural diversity communication. To register, www.pesi.com
17. Catholic Health Care Ethics
February 28 – March 2, 2007 / Maywood, IL
Sponsored by Catholic Health Association and Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics
This program brings together leading moral theologians and health care ethicists to provide a primer in Catholic health care ethics to apply conceptual resources to current problems and to confront moral challenges on the horizon for Catholic health care providers. www.chausa.org
18. 10th Annual Practical Applications of New Agents in Oncology
March 2-3, 2007 / San Antonio, TX
Sponsored by Institute for Drug Development, Cancer Therapy & Research Center, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
This symposium will focus on the large number of new anticancer agents and related supportive therapeutics that have been approved over the last several years, as well as those that will likely be approved. www.newagents.org
19. Palliative Medicine 2007, 11th Annual International Symposium
March 15-17, 2007 / Fort Myers, FL
Sponsored by the Cleveland Clinic
An intensive multi-disciplinary review of cutting edge topics in the field is the focus of this conference. The intent is to provide updates on concepts of current interest and examine recent advances in the field in a format that allows interaction between faculty and attendees. http://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/pm2007
20. 92nd Catholic Health Assembly: Touching Lives, Healing Communities
June 17 – 19, 2007 / Chicago, IL
Sponsored by Catholic Health Association
The Assembly will celebrate the accomplishment and redouble the aspiration of our ministries to bring to life Jesus' healing mission for persons and communities. To register, www.chausa.org |