Portland, OR – November 3, 2015 – Managing the pain, nausea, fatigue and stress of cancer could get easier for patients and their families thanks to a new palliative care council appointed in October to improve the quality of life for Oregonians with serious illnesses.
The Palliative Care and Quality of Life Interdisciplinary Advisory Council, appointed by the Oregon Health Authority, seeks to improve quality of life through a team-based, patient-centered health care approach known as palliative care. Palliative care recognizes a person beyond their disease by treating their physical and emotional side effects of the disease, sometimes during curative therapy or afterward. Palliative care is appropriate at any age and any stage of a disease.
“It’s all about making sure a patient and his or her family has the support they need during and after treatment,” said Luis Rodriguez, Oregon government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). “Palliative care is essential to achieving comprehensive, cost-effective care that improves a patient’s quality of life and can even improve health outcomes.”
Earlier this year, ACS CAN led efforts with other organizations to pass Senate Bill 608 – signed by Governor Kate Brown in July – that led to the creation of this new council as part of a larger palliative care focus. The council will examine Oregon’s palliative care efforts and make recommendations on ways the state can increase access to and quality of its palliative care programs.
Its members represent core components of a palliative care team, including physicians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists and members of the clergy. They are:
· Judy Epstein, naturopathic physician, National College of Natural Medicine, Portland
· Erik Fromme, internal medicine physician, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland
· Catherine Keil, registered nurse, Umpqua Health Alliance, Roseburg
· Margaret Klein, chief clinical officer and chief ethicist, Vibra Specialty Health, Portland
· Jennifer Levi, palliative care social worker, Providence Health and Services, Portland
· Laura Mavity, physician and palliative care specialist, St. Charles Healthcare, Bend
· Letha McLeod, chaplain, Providence Health and Services, Portland
· Kathy Perko, pediatric nurse practitioner at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Portland
· Delvin Zook, healthcare administrator, Rock of Ages, McMinnville
Palliative care is one of the fastest-growing health care trends because it improves outcomes. Studies show that cancer patients receiving palliative care during chemotherapy are more likely to complete treatment, stay in clinical trials and report higher quality of life than those patients not receiving palliative care. And research demonstrates that when palliative care is used proactively, people are more satisfied and overall health care costs decrease.
“Palliative care is in the best interest of patients,” said Rodriguez. “But for it to work effectively, people have to know about it and have access to it. Oregon is making great strides in this area, and we’re excited to work with these experts to create solutions that help protect the quality of life of every Oregonian with cancer.”
Learn more about the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Oregon and its efforts to improve access to palliative care atwww.acscan.org/or.
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials to make cancer a top priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer and make their voices heard.
