Woodland, CA, November 19, 2007 - The Woodland Healthcare Foundation was awarded a $20,000 grant from the California Healthcare Foundation (CHCF). Under the auspices of the California Coalition for Compassionate Care, the grant will fund Advanced Care Planning: Integrating PIC (Preferred Intensity of Care) with POLST (Physicians Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment).
Woodland Healthcare is a partner in the Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF) Coalition who is currently developing and revising comprehensive comfort care policies and pre-printed physician orders for comfort care, in order to optimize palliative care for SNF residents. The focus of this project is to transition from using the PIC, which requires specific physician orders to implement identified patient preferences, to using the POLST, which combines the patient preferences with the formal physician orders. This will enhance medical decision making for the patient, family, doctor and medical support staff.
This is a collaborative grant with Sutter Hospital and five of the skilled nursing facilities throughout Yolo County. The project will be overseen by Jeffrey Yee, MD, Internal Medicine, who is actively involved in the palliative care team and is the medical director for two Yolo County skilled nursing facilities. The project will be led by Joanne Hatchett, RN, MSN, FNP, who is the Palliative Care Coordinator and coordinates the Bridge Program for Palliative Care.
Seven coalitions have been selected in California to work with CHCF and the California Coalition for Compassionate Care. We were one of three groups that has direct involvement from CHCF Fellows – Tom March, MD, and Tom Ormiston, MD. These seven grants were awarded in the following counties: Mendocino, Alameda, Ventura, Humboldt, Riverside, Santa Clara and Yolo County.
