Rural Communities Invited to Participate in Stratis Health's New Rural Palliative Care Community Development Project

Published Friday, October 14, 2011

Stratis Health encourages rural Minnesota communities to complete an application to participate in the Rural Palliative Care Community Development Project. This is a two-year learning and planning project to start or strengthen palliative care services in participating communities. It will begin January 2012 and continue through spring 2014. Across Minnesota, 16 rural communities already have participated and successfully advanced their palliative care offerings by participating in similar Stratis Health initiatives.

Palliative care is an interdisciplinary approach to managing serious and advanced illness that centers on relieving suffering and improving quality of life for patients and their families. It 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. Practitioners of palliative care help patients and their families understand treatment options, and facilitate effective communication among health care professionals, patients, and family members. Emotional and spiritual support for the patient and family are hallmarks of palliative care.

To be eligible for the project, a community must be served by a hospital with 100 or fewer licensed beds, although the hospital does not need to be the lead applicant for the community. Six to eight rural communities from around Minnesota will be selected to participate in this program, which is funded by UCare.

This initiative brings together a combined focus on rural health care, palliative care standards and processes, and facilitated action planning for participating communities. A full list of benefits, expectations, and commitments is included in the application materials. Participants will receive a variety of services and resources free of charge, including:

• Training and consultation to develop an action plan for implementing/enhancing palliative care services in their community
• Facilitated educational and visioning workshop conducted with community stakeholders to develop a plan for palliative care services in their community
• A primary liaison designated to connect the community team with program resources and expertise
• Individual follow up and support

The National Priority Partnership has identified palliative and end of life care as one of six priorities for the American health care system. Stratis Health wants to assist rural communities in meeting the challenge of providing appropriate and compassionate care for patients with life-limiting illness. Your community has the opportunity to be a leader in this effort by participating in the Rural Palliative Care Community Development Project.

Application deadline is December 2, 2011. Application materials >

A community must designate one organization to submit an application on behalf of the community team. Community teams will vary in composition they must be multi-site and interdisciplinary—representing more than one provider setting and interdisciplinary professionals. The application must indicate commitment from all key participating health care providers and organizations in your community, such as hospitals, clinics, home health agencies, nursing homes, and hospice programs.

While there is no fee to participate in the collaborative, participating organizations will need to commit resources and staff to the initiative. Community selection will be announced in late December.