Ten Rural Minnesota Communities to Build Palliative Care Programs

Published Friday, September 26, 2008
by Deb McKinley

Ten rural Minnesota communities have been selected to participate in Stratis Health's Minnesota Rural Palliative Care Initiative to establish or strengthen palliative care programs in their communities. Community teams in the Bemidji, New Ulm, Olivia, Red Wing, Roseau, Staples, Waconia, Wadena, Willmar, and Winona areas will be working together through this initiative being led by Stratis Health, in partnership with Transitions and Life Choices, the palliative care program of Fairview Health Services.

Seven out of 10 Americans who die each year die of a chronic disease. Palliative care is an approach to managing chronic disease and other serious and advanced illness that centers on relieving suffering and improving quality of life for patients and their families. Palliative care customizes treatment to meet the needs of each individual, seeking to relieve pain, anxiety, shortness of breath, fatigue, nausea, loss of appetite and other symptoms and to provide emotional and spiritual support. It differs from hospice in that it is appropriate at any point in a serious illness and can be provided at the same time as curative treatment.

"Health care needs are changing. Chronic diseases are now the leading cause of death and disability in Minnesota. Our health care services need to evolve to provide appropriate care," said Jennifer Lundblad, PhD, MBA, president and CEO, Stratis Health. "Palliative care is new to many health care providers. By fostering palliative care in rural communities we hope to decrease the number of patients having to leave their home community to receive this patient-centered care."

Of the 10 communities participating in the Minnesota Rural Palliative Care Initiative, only Red Wing and Staples currently have a palliative care program in their community. Palliative care programs help patients better manage their symptoms, improve satisfaction with the family-clinician relationships, decrease problems with transitions between health care providers-such as when patients move from hospitals to nursing homes or from nursing homes to receiving care at home from a home health agency.

Thirty-five communities applied to participate in the Minnesota Rural Palliative Care Initiative, indicating a strong interest and need to develop palliative care services to support rural communities. If successful, Stratis Health's rural palliative care project will be a model for implementing palliative care programs in rural areas throughout the country.

Stratis Health is a non-profit organization founded in 1971 that leads collaboration and innovation in health care quality and safety, and serves as a trusted expert in facilitating improvement for people and communities.

This initiative was made possible by funds provided by UCare an independent, non-profit health plan providing health care and administrative services to more than 140,000 members. The Minnesota Department of Health - Office of Rural Health and Primary Care is providing a stipend to each community to help off-set travel costs for attending training sessions.

More information, including a list of participating organizations