Partnering with Palliative and Hospice Care Teams

1. Partnering with Palliative and Hospice Care Teams A workshop for faith leaders

2. Palliative Philosophy "You matter because you are you, and you matter to the end of your life. We will do all we can not only to help you die peacefully, but also to live until you die.” —Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of hospice movement

3. Spirituality and Care Palliative/Hospice Care Teams & Faith Leaders-Complementary Roles: • Patient and family-centered care; caring for the whole person • Spiritual dimension an integral part of care • Focus on the quality of the time remaining • Mutual communication & education in service of better care • Support duringthe grieving process

4. Palliative Care and Hospice

5. Palliative Care vs. Hospice Care Palliative care • Specialized care for serious illness • Can be concurrent with curative care • Not limited to the end of life Hospice Care • Specialized care for the end of life • Patient must have a life-expectancy of six months or less • Hospice clinicians are experts in end-of-life palliative care

6. Benefits of palliative and hospice care • Care is centered on the patient’s values and priorities • Team of professionals who can anticipate and address changing needs • Patient & family supported--better able to focus on quality time • Research shows that some people live longer with palliative and/or hospice care

7. What Does a Hospice Patient Look Like?

8. The Care Team

9. Helping patients access hospice or palliative care • Encourage those you serve to speak openly about what they value most • Encourage patients and families to ask about palliative and hospice care rather than wait for the doctor to bring it up • Encourage patients to contact you any time during the disease process

10. Helping patients access hospice or palliative care Use free hospice consultations as a resource for: • Evaluating a patient for hospice care • Responding to patient/family requests for more information about care options • Working with conflicting family ideas about care

11. Important Openings • When patient/family request your support • When caregivers appear overwhelmed • Time of a new diagnosis or prognosis • First hospitalization; long hospitalization • Discharge from hospital, change of care setting

12. What to Listen for • Questioning the quality of life • Asking “Is it worth it?” • Weighing the benefits & burdens of treatment • Expressing readiness • Needing help with the life closure process

13. Ways to support patients • Deep listening around strengths, distress, hopes • Advocating for the patient’s values • Educating medical team members about your community’s theology, beliefs, traditions • Being additional eyes and ears during meetings, taking notes, asking questions

14. Ways to support patients • Processing information with the patient/family from an emotional and spiritual perspective • Encouraging families to access support as they grieve the loss of their loved one • Giving healthcare providers feedback. Faith leaders have valuable insight about families in their care

15. Thank you! For more information, visit www.CoalitionCCC.org

16. Questions?