Parrish Medical Center’s Palliative Care program recently was awarded
a $10,000 grant from the Jess Parrish Medical Foundation.
The grant will be used to train and certify Advanced Care Planning (ACP)
facilitators throughout the community. Facilitators help people with healthcare
decision-making at different stages of health in their life.
Palliative care is help for people with serious and chronic illnesses such
as cancer, cardiac disease, congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD), kidney failure and many more.
Palliative care focuses on providing patients with relief from the symptoms,
pain and stress of their illness. The goal is to improve quality of life
for patients and their families.
The program will take a train-the-trainer approach. Training will provide
the basis for a systems approach to planning for advanced care.
One initiative taking place nationally to increase communication among
families about personal end-of-life priorities is the Respecting Choices model.
This model will help transform healthcare in North Brevard County. It aligns
with the PMC vision of Healing Families—Healing Communities®.
The approach is designed to:
- Help people understand their choices for treatment.
- Involve patients in their own healthcare decision-making.
- Encourage them to express in writing their healthcare wishes and decisions.
- Simplify care management and communication through shared documents.
- Improve consistency in how advance-care planning is approached.
“As a person’s health improves or declines, personal directives
may change,” explains Terry Donovan-Page, RN, MSN, PMC’s palliative
care coordinator. “Advanced Care Planning discussions need to be
more routine and processes need to be in place that clearly communicate
and support patient healthcare choices.”