By Chris Willis, MSW, LSW
Consultant
OneOnOne Hospice Solutions
One of the fastest growing home health care programs in our
country is Palliative Care. Hospitals,
home health agencies, hospices, and long term care organizations are starting
Palliative Care programs. This trend is
demonstrated as the National Hospice Organization, which was formed in 1978,
changed its name to National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in
2000.
There seems to be some confusion as to ‘what is palliative
care?’ Whether seeking the answer from the many resources in the medical and
care communities on online with the internet, each source states it a little differently.
NHCPO defines Palliative Care as “treatment that enhances comfort and improves the quality of
an individual’s life during the last phase of life.”
In the 12 ½ years spent with one of the premier hospices in
the state of Arizona, I have come to define palliative care as “a service that
provides patient driven care to individuals diagnosed with a serious, chronic
or terminal condition.” This definition grew from our experiences with patients
who were seeking care that would assist and empower them in a manner and route
that was specific to them. Today, more home health and hospice agencies are
creating palliative care services and programs within their current care
offerings to ensure that no one is left without the services they need. This type
of care benefits the patient as well as your agency by providing a unique
supportive angle that offers a follow-up opportunity which improves conversion
rates.
As the director of a hospice Palliative Care Program,
explaining palliative care was a frequent occurrence. These discussions were
not just with patients and their support systems, but also with countless
medical professionals who were seeking and learning more about how our services
were supporting their patients’ needs. Palliative care affords an agency the
opportunity to truly honor the comfort approach “the patient way” by supporting
them on their life journey. Also, palliative care bridges the gap by allowing
you to bill for your services if deemed medically necessary, regardless if a
patient is eligible to utilize their hospice or home health benefit.
A Palliative Care Program gives your agency the ability to
provide bio-psycho-social support, knowledge and resources to an individual and
their support system by a designated team of professionals, as defined by your
agency and license(s). For the patient and their support system utilizing a
palliative care program, it assures them that they have others to accompany
them on their life path, to keep them informed of what to expect, and to
prepare and support them with open and honest discussions about their disease
process. Whether seeking aggressive or comfort care, or both, the patient has
the ability to choose. For an agency with a complete palliative care program,
it reinforces their company’s commitment to providing “comfort as the patient
defines it,” while leveraging themselves with their community partners.
OneOnOne Hospice Solutions was created so that we may
assist, empower, and strengthen agencies and their teams as they define their individual
palliative care programs. Through our
experience we have learned that you need these four key components to create a
successful Palliative Care Program:
1.
A tracking system enhanced by an agency’s
current intake system to ensure that “no one is left behind.” This includes
policies and procedures, intake system analysis and needs assessment tools to
differentiate services offered by an agency,
2.
A marketing toolbox specific to your service
area, which includes internal and external needs, assessment tools, market
trends, referral and intake forms, policies and procedures and more,
3.
A commitment for side-by-side support from
creation to launch by a trained palliative care professional to agency leaders
and team members; and finally,
4.
A community partnership initiative derived from
key influencers in the service area to ensure the delivery of complete and
seamless compassionate care to patients and their support systems.
Palliative care is an ever-growing and changing service that
reflects the needs of patients and their support systems. Although relatively
new, a comprehensive palliative care program should be seriously considered by
every home health care and hospice company as a way to care for their
communities in the future and differentiate their service offerings.

Making the decision to hire a home care service to provide care for your loved one is an important decision and can, at the same time, be very difficult. Home health care is ideal for many seniors, because it allows them to stay comfortable and secure in their own home.
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