FOR RELEASE:
October 5, 2011, 8:00 am EST
CONTACT: Sadia Choudhury
212.201.2673
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Palliative Care State-by-State Report Card Released to Congress
Nation Improves; Regional Gaps Exist
New York, NY (October 5, 2011)—Congress learned today just how well their home states are doing in terms of caring for our sickest Americans. According to a “Report Card” published by the Center to Advance Palliative Care, the nation overall gets a “B” grade, up from a “C,” when the report was first released in 2008.
“The good news is that over the last ten years hospital palliative care teams have more than doubled,” said Dr. Diane E. Meier, director of the Center and co-author of the studyAmerica’s Care of Serious Illness: A State-by-State Report Card on Access to Palliative Care in Our Nation’s Hospitals. “The bad news is that despite its enormous benefits to patients and care givers, millions of seriously ill Americans still do not have access. Given the will of Congress to assure patientsreceive high quality care while reducing costs, it seems that palliative care should be anatural part of that prescription.”
Palliative care is a medical specialty that helps people facing serious and chronic illness more comfortable by alleviating pain, treating a host of other symptoms and focusing on their quality of life. It is appropriate at any age and any stage of a serious illness and can be provided along with curative treatment.
“America’s hospitals have a strong history of caring for patients and families during the most difficult of times,” said Rich Umbdenstock, President and CEO of the American Hospital Association. “Hospitals and other health care organizations are taking the lead in ensuring health care is patient-centered, reflecting patient’s desires including palliative care assistance.”
“Studiessuggest that in states with more hospital-based palliative care programs, patients are less likely to die in the hospital, are likely to spend fewer days inthe ICU, have better pain management and higher satisfaction with their healthcare,” said Dr. Sean Morrison, director of the National Palliative Care Research Center and the study’s lead author. “Some studies have reported that palliative care may also prolong life. And beyond patient benefits, the overall cost savings to hospitals have been well documented.”
The Report Card demonstrates considerable improvement in the growth of palliative care. (Out of a total of 2,489 hospitals nationwide who participated in this survey, about 1,500 provide palliative care services.) This number is expected to grow significantly over the next five years, but barrierscontinue to exist in three key areas: Workforce, Research and Access.
The report gives seven states plus the District of Columbia an A: Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Only three states, Vermont, Montana and New Hampshire, received an A in 2008.
More than half of the fiftystates received a grade of B. Seven states improved from a D to a C (Georgia, Kentucky, New Mexico, Texas, South Carolina, Louisiana and Wyoming).
Nevada saw dramatic gains, rising from a D to a B grade.Only two states – Delaware and Mississippi– got an F. Oklahoma, Alabama and Arkansas improved from an F in the last report card to a D in 2011.
For state and districtrankings and policy recommendationsvisit
The Center to Advance Palliative Care (, ) and The National Palliative Care Research Center are affiliated with Mount Sinai School of Medicine and are dedicated to increasing quality palliativecare services.
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