38 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • FEBRUARY 1, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
health
Parker Jewish Institute hosts
hospice and palliative care seminar
Parker Institute’s hospice launches
new end-of-life ‘Doula’ program
Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care
and Rehabilitation in New Hyde Park
recently launched a new End-of-Life
(EOL) “Doula” Program, a special outreach
arm of the Institute’s highly rated
Community/Inpatient Hospice.
The specially trained Doula volunteers
go to patient’s homes and extend
the hand of reassurance, off ering a smile
that warms the heart and words that
say everything will be okay. It’s part
of Parker’s overall eff ort to bring their
exceptional Hospice services to the
greater community.
Doula is a Greek word that means
“woman servant or caregiver.” Today it
is associated with individuals who provide
assistance and emotional support
during and after childbirth. Parker’s
EOL Doula program mirrors this concept
by giving the same type of support
at the fi nal phase of a life-limiting illness.
The initiative aids elderly patients who
lack family or adequate caregiver support
to die comfortably, without fear of
being alone.
Even when surrounded by loved ones,
individuals with a life-limiting illness
and those closest to them, may feel isolated
as they face the end of life. As
the end of life approaches, patients and
families struggle with anxiety, fear and
exhaustion; loved ones often feel alone,
unprepared and afraid. Parker’s specially
trained Doula volunteers provide
physical, emotional and spiritual support
and comfort to patients and their
loved ones during this most diffi cult
time. Doula is supported by a grant
from The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels
Foundation.
In addition to the Doula initiative,
Parker’s Hospice recently received top
ratings by the Hospice and Palliative
Care Association of New York State
(HPCANYS).
The Community/Inpatient Hospice at
Parker provides comfort, relief, and peace
of mind to individuals with advanced or
life-limiting illness and their families.
For more information, call 516-586-
1500.
Parker Jewish Institute for
Health Care and Rehabilitation
hosted “Hospice into the Future,”
an informative seminar for hospital
and skilled nursing facility
staff , health care service providers
and clinical professionals,
on Jan. 16.
Focusing on the current state
of hospice and palliative care,
the seminar was led by Carla
Braveman, president and CEO of
the Hospice and Palliative Care
Association of New York State
(HPCANYS). Th e program provided
insights to Parker administrators
and clinicians, as well
as guests from other health care
facilities.
Braveman started with a brief
history of hospice. Th e modern
hospice movement began
in England in 1967 by founder
Dame Cecile Saunders, a nurse
who became a social worker and
then a physician. In 1974, the
fi rst U.S. hospice was launched
in Connecticut. Th ere were 13
hospice demonstration projects
started across the US in 1979,
and later in her career Braveman
became involved with one of
these. In 1983, for the fi rst time in
America, Medicare started providing
hospice benefi t coverage
and in 1986, hospice became a
permanent part of Medicare.
“In fact, coverage for hospice
service is the newest and most
generous benefi t provided by our
Medicare system,” she noted.
When the burgeoning industry
submitted recommendations
to Congress, someone suggested
a hospice Medicare benefi t of
six months.
“Th ere was no science behind
that six month prognosis, and
ever since then we have been trying
to change it,” she added.
Hospice was able to obtain
more Medicare coverage in the
1980s because several studies
showed that for every dollar spent
on hospice, at least $1.50 to $2.00
per patient is saved.
What is the future role of
hospice with the new payment
model? How will palliative care
evolve?
“People in Washington, DC
are now actually talking about a
Palliative Care Benefi t,” Braveman
said. “A Palliative Care Benefi t is
not a Palliative Care doctor seeing
patients. A Palliative Care
Benefi t is a hospice-like situation
where the patient doesn’t have six
months or less to live, but is based
on a longer trajectory of an illness
and whether they want curative
treatment or comfort care.”
Michael N. Rosenblut, Parker
Jewish Institute President and
CEO, said “Hospice continues to
be an underutilized benefi t, that
may potentially enable a patient
and their family, to receive additional
resources, when they are
most in need.”
Braveman said that hospice
enjoys some of the overall highest
satisfaction ratings, when
compared with hospitals, home
care agencies and other providers.
“And, Parker Jewish is one of
New York’s premier hospice programs,”
she proclaimed. Carla Braveman, president and CEO of the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York State