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Date: Aug, 9 2023
Last year, Adoray relaunched our Community-Based Palliative Care program. With the mission of enhancing the quality of life with a specialized care that focuses on the person as a whole, not just their disease.
In collaboration with the patient’s primary care provider (PCP) and family-centered care including advance care planning, symptom management, care coordination, education, and support. Care is provided by an interdisciplinary team with a focus on patient goals of care to ease the individual’s suffering and improve quality of life.
Adoray’s Palliative Care program improves the quality of life for not just the person, but also for their caregiver and their families, who are facing the daily challenges associated with life-threatening illness, whether physical, psychological, social, or spiritual.
Each year, an estimated 40 million people are in need of Palliative Care and 78% of them are people living in the low-and middle-income areas. Palliative Care is based on the needs of the person, not the prognosis. It is appropriate at any age and at any stage of a serious illness, and it can be provided along with curative treatment. The need for Palliative Care will continue to grow throughout Western Wisconsin as a result of the aging population, the rising burden of non-communicable diseases and some communicable diseases, and the ruralness of the community members. Not only does Palliative Care help our community members, it helps our already stressed hospital systems, by keeping patients from rehospitalization and able to receive more individualized care in their own homes.
*Stories from our Care Team of how our Palliative Care has made a difference in the lives of our patients.
“I started with Adoray just a few months ago as a palliative/hospice nurse practitioner. The very first patient that I saw and admitted to palliative care was a sweet lady who has Alzheimer’s dementia. This woman is the sweetest always offering treats and coffee when I visit and sharing stories of her youth as well as any life advice she believes you should know. I just recently was able to help her and her family to understand that as she continues to decline hospice services would be the best support for her. This lady wants to remain in her home with her doting husband for as long as she is able and hospice care will provide them the extra support they need. They just accepted the hospice care services and it has been a pleasure to watch this patient and their family throughout their entire journey at Adoray from palliative to hospice. I truly enjoy seeing patients who can continue to enjoy their life with their loved ones for as long as they have left here on earth, and I believe the palliative program certainly gave this lady the quality of life she deserves.” ~Adoray Nurse Practitioner
“We had a patient on our palliative care program who was on dialysis. They frequently were in and out of the hospital. This caused significant stress on the patient and their family who were their primary caregivers. With our palliative care we were able to help ease suffering and support the patient and their family by walking along the journey with them. Through the process we were able to provide emotional support, symptom management, education and facilitated discussion surrounding what the patient’s goals of care were for 7 months. During these 7 months we were able to build a relationship with the patient and their family to identify what was important to them. This patient was a fighter, and wanted to keep pushing as long as they possibly could. That was not only their goal but also their spiritual belief. By the time she came to the decision to stop dialysis and sign on to hospice, they were only on hospice service for 10 days. It is shown the people benefit from the support of hospice services longer, yet those that choose to keep doing dialysis may miss out these supports that can enhance quality of life and ease suffering. Palliative care helps bridges the gap to give people end of life support beyond the last days to week of life.” ~Adoray Social Worker
*Thank You to our Financial Supporters!
Thank you to all our amazing financial supporters! It is because of each and every one of you that Adoray was able to accept our first Palliative Care patient in August of 2022 and to date has been able to provide Palliative care to over 50 people in the last year. The average age of Adoray's Palliative Care patients is 81.
This important community program would not have been possible without the financial support from The Fred C. and Katherine B. Andersen Foundation and the United Way of St. Croix Valley. Along with our amazing Staff through Employee Giving and Community Donors who have donated through GiveBIG St. Croix Valley and our Adoray’s Treasures from the Heart Round-Up. It is with ongoing fundraising and Grant requests by Adoray that continue to make this program grow and sustainable. If you are interested in supporting Palliative Care and ensuring it is a resource available to community members in Western Wisconsin for years to come please visit www.adoray.org/donate or contact Amber Bettinger-Lytle, Director of Marketing & Development by email at a.bettinger@adoray.org.
*Interested in how Adoray's Palliative Care program could help you or a loved one?
Call 715-629-1888 today to discover how our team is your partner in care wherever you call home in Western Wisconsin.
