Palliative care is medical care for people living with a serious illness. This type of care is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of illness with the goal of improving quality of life for both the patient and family. Effective palliative care is delivered by a trained team of doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains, and other health professionals who collaborate to provide an extra layer of support. Based on the needs of the patient, not on prognosis, palliative care is appropriate at any age and any stage of serious illness and may be provided alongside curative treatments in primary and specialty settings.
According to the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP), “States, as drivers of innovation in health policy can influence how palliative care is perceived, accessed, and delivered. States across the country are advancing palliative care using a variety of policy levers:
- Adopting regulations that define, standardize, and support palliative care delivery;
- Implementing palliative care reimbursement policies and quality measures within Medicaid and state employee health programs to promote high value care;
- Incorporating palliative care into public health and public education strategies and;Â
- Convening stakeholders to inform policy and programmatic changes.”Â
In a recent update from NASHP, they found “eighteen states across the country have passed legislation to establish education programs to promote palliative care among health care providers and the public as of 2022.”
South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations (SDAHO) is pleased to announce that the South Dakota Department of Health (DOH) has recently added SDAHO links to the DOH website that provides education and resources for health care professionals on palliative care. This was a collaborative effort between the DOH and SDAHO that did not require legislation. Links can be found in two different locations. The first is on the South Dakota Cancer Coalition resource page and the second one is to be located on the DOH website cancer webpage and is toward the bottom of the page under Palliative Care.Â
Advance Care Planning and Palliative Care are part of the DOH Comprehensive Cancer Control Program and SD Cancer Coalitions’ SD Cancer Plan 2021-2025. “Priority 12: Improve availability and use of advance care planning, palliative care, and end of life care services for cancer patients.” By providing a link to the SDAHO Hospice & Palliative Care website, they are implementing the strategies to achieve their goal which are:
- Promote culturally competent professional education
- Increase public awareness, education and resource promotion
- Promote completion of advance directives
- Promote community-based services, appropriate referrals, technology, and other innovative practice models, to increase equitable access for rural and other vulnerable populations
- Support healthcare professional certification and
- Promote the adoption of best practices and national standards into routine cancer care.Â
Visit our hospice and palliative care webpage today for more resources.
