Danbury (Conn.) Hospital has expanded its palliative care program for outpatients suffering from chronic pulmonary diseases, providing patients with the benefits of palliative care prior to hospitalization.
Here are three things to know about Danbury Hospital and its palliative care program for patients with chronic pulmonary diseases:
1. The expansion: The new palliative care offering serves as an expansion of a program that has been in place at Danbury Hospital since 2004. Prior to the expansion, these services were only available to inpatients and patients being treated at the hospital's cancer center and select nursing homes.
2. The team: The care team responsible for palliative care delivery consists of physicians, advanced practice nurses, social workers and chaplains. The program reaches more than 1,000 patients and their families every year.
3. The goal: When organizations implement comprehensive plans for symptom control and quality of life maintenance for chronically ill patients, readmissions can be reduced. The palliative care program at Danbury Hospital aims to assist chronically ill patients by treating both physical and emotional symptoms and ultimately reduce suffering.
"In America's healthcare system, all too often patients aren't asked what is important to them, especially when a cure is not an option. We ask patients to articulate their goals and values so that our medical team can put in place a treatment plan based on their wishes," said Damanjeet Chaubey, MD, medical director of the palliative care service and chief of hospital medicine at Danbury Hospital. "We hope to someday have the resources to provide palliative care services to patients visiting their primary care physician's office."
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