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The Christ Hospital Inpatient Palliative Care Consult Service Easing the Burden of Serious Illness. Palliative Care: Selection.
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The Christ HospitalInpatient Palliative Care Consult ServiceEasing the Burden of Serious Illness
Palliative Care: Selection • The Palliative Care Service fulfills The Christ Hospital’s commitment to patient- and family-centered care by partnering with patients, families and the primary medical team to manage the pain, symptoms, and stress of serious illnesses at any stage of disease. • Through careful planning and attention to best practices, this project has garnered widespread acceptance and has demonstrated better than expected outcomes. • This project demonstrates interdisciplinary teamwork at its best and serves as a model of projects within and outside the organization.
Palliative Care Service: Situation Analysis • TCH had attempted to implement a palliative care program for two years but the project was not successful. • The Ethics Committee found that it was overwhelmed with situations that would be best served by a palliative care service. • Hospital stakeholders hoped that a robust interdisciplinary palliative care service would result in: • Decreased symptom distress and pain intensity • Decreased readmission rates and emergency department visits for the chronically ill • Decreased ICU length of stay
Palliative Care Service: Project Solution • An interdisciplinary Palliative Care Steering Committee, led by the Chief Nursing Officer, spearheaded the project planning and recruited team members. • During a two-month period of preparation, the TCH Palliative Care Team: • Conducted site visits to established programs to determine best practices. • Developed systems and technology to promote efficient work flow and evidence-based patient care. • Worked to build relationships with other health care professionals and provided education about palliative care.
Palliative Care Service: Results • Higher than expected referral volume with majority of referrals coming from specialty services that had resisted palliative care in the past • Decreased symptom distress and pain intensity • Increased enrollment in hospice at the end of life • Decreased urgent resuscitations (CPR) in cases of medical futility • High percentage of palliative care patients completing advance directives • High physician and staff satisfaction • Decreased ICU length of stay • Decreased readmissions and emergency department visits for the chronically ill