FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 12, 2010
Contacts:
Cheri Russum, Providence Regional Medical Center 425-304-0591
AHA, Matthew Fenwick, 312-422-2820 CELEBRATING INNOVATION IN PALLIATIVE AND END-OF-LIFE CARE Snohomish County Palliative Partnership Recognized as National Leader
July 12, 2010 – Today Snohomish County Palliative Partnership was named a Circle of Life Award® winner by the American Hospital Association. Snohomish County Palliative Partnership is recognized for its innovative program that improves the care of patients near the end of life or with life-threatening conditions. It is one of three organizations in the nation receiving the Circle of Life Award this year. The Snohomish County Palliative Partnership is a palliative care and hospice consortium consisting of Providence Hospice and Home Care of Snohomish County, The Everett Clinic, Providence Regional Cancer Partnership, Providence Physician Group, and Providence Regional Medical Center, along with other community partners. It provides a full continuum of care to patients from primary care to hospice. Formed as an informal partnership, the Snohomish County Palliative Partnership is a model for teamwork and communication among its partners, making transitions during the care process seamless for patients and their families. The Circle of Life Award celebrates programs across the nation that have made great strides in palliative and end-of-life care. This is the eleventh year for the Circle of Life Award. “Receiving this award is the hallmark of the collaborative work we have come together to do in caring for our most vulnerable patients and neighbors,” says Joanne Roberts, MD, Chief of Medicine at Providence Regional Medical Center Everett and a palliative medicine physician at The Everett Clinic. “As a community, working together, we are seeking to provide a circle of care based on the care goals of each patient and family member we serve.” “We are proud to present Snohomish County Palliative Partnership with the Circle of Life Award,” says Rich Umbdenstock, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association. “Today we are working as a field to best provide this palliative and end-of-life care to patients and families. The honorees of the Circle of Life award are shining lights for others to use as a guide on this long path forward – we offer our thanks and congratulations for their innovative programs. Snohomish County Palliative Partnership was chosen by a selection committee made up of leaders from medicine, nursing, social work, ethics, and health administration. The committee focused on innovative programs that respect patient goals and preferences, provide comprehensive care, acknowledge and address the family or caregivers’ concerns and needs and build systems and mechanisms of support to continue the program for future patients and caregivers.
About the Circle of Life Award
The 2010 award is supported, in part by the Archstone Foundation, as well as by the California Healthcare Foundation, based in Oakland, Calif. Major sponsors of the 2010 awards are the American Hospital Association, the Catholic Health Association of the United States, the National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care, and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization & National Hospice Foundation. The Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association and the National Association of Social Workers are both cosponsors. The Circle of Life Award is a program administered by the Health Research & Educational Trust. For more information on the Circle of Life Award, visit www.aha.org/circleoflife.
About the AHA
The AHA is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the improvement of health in their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which include almost 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks and other providers of care. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. ####
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