OSF Healthcare has joined the Supportive Care Coalition:  Pursuing Excellence in Palliative Care.  Representing OSF on the Coalition board of directors are Katie Jones, RN, MS, administrator of OSF Home Care; and Robert Sawicki, MD, medical director of OSF Home Care.

“As an extension of Catholic health care we must champion end of life initiatives.  Our Supportive Care model is rooted in our Catholic identity and will allow us to better serve persons with the greatest care and love,” notes Ms. Jones.

“We look forward to working with and learning from members of this distinguished group who are also striving to advance the care of patients, and their loved ones, who are facing a chronic progressive and/or terminal illness,” she adds.

The Supportive Care Coalition, founded in 1994 by six visionary Catholic health care organizations, has grown to an organization of 15 Catholic ministries advancing excellence in palliative care.  Combined, member organizations provide health care facilities in 49 states.

OSF HealthCare, owned and operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in Peoria, Illinois, includes six acute care facilities, a long-term care facility, two colleges of nursing, a primary care physician network, a philanthropic foundation, OSF Home Care, OSF HealthPlans and other healthcare-related businesses. This multi-state health care system provides state-of-the-art, compassionate care to more than 2.5 million people through its facilities in Illinois and Michigan.

OSF’s focus is on a system-wide commitment and progressive programs to implement supportive care services across the continuum of care.  Palliative programs currently provided by OSF HealthCare include OSF Hospice, a home health bridge program to assist seriously ill patients who many not qualify or be ready to accept hospice, an inpatient palliative care program at St. Anthony Medical Center, and a new Supportive Care Model that will cross the continuum of care and provide an inpatient palliative care program at each hospital.  The new model also will implement a standardized Advanced Care Planning process that crosses the continuum of care and an ambulatory supportive care pilot program to better coordinate services and improve access for patients with chronic progressive and/or terminal illness.  This pilot will be built incorporating many principles established by the Coalition’s CALL Care demonstration project.

For more information about OSF Healthcare. www.osfhealthcare.org