Rural Community-Based Palliative Care

What is palliative care? 

Palliative care is supportive medical care for people with serious illnesses. It focuses on providing patients with relief from the symptoms, pain, and stress of a serious illness – regardless of the diagnosis.


What is the picture of palliative care in rural areas?

Rural populations are disproportionately older, poorer, and are more likely to have a range of chronic illnesses than their urban counterparts. They are also less likely to have access to palliative care services, as the majority of palliative care programs have developed in larger urban hospitals delivery models. Rural communities are uniquely positioned to meet the challenges of providing palliative care through collaborative efforts.

About the Rural Community-Based Palliative Care Project

MetaStar and the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health are working with Stratis Health to increase access to palliative care services in five to eight rural Wisconsin communities. The project is part of a multi-state effort from Stratis Health to develop community-based care in rural areas in North Dakota, Washington, and Wisconsin. The three-year project will span from Fall 2017 to Summer 2020, and the project implementations in each state are staggered to foster knowledge transfer between state-based cohorts.  

Resources


Coalitions

Partners

Asset and Gap Analysis

Each Community Team participating in the Rural Community-Based Palliative Care Project is required to complete this Asset and Gap Analysis aimed at identifying the resources, needs, and opportunities in your community to develop, implement, and sustain successful palliative care services. Use this link to submit your responses. 

Definitions below are provided for clarification: 

  • Community Team refers to the organizations and individuals working together on this project. 
  • Palliative care refers to patient and family centered care that optimizes quality of life by anticipating, preventing, and treating suffering. Palliative care throughout the continuum of illness involves addressing physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual needs and facilitating patient autonomy, access to information, and choice. Of particular importance, palliative care services are indicated throughout a patient’s illness and should not be restricted to the end-of-life phase.*
  • Hospice care is a service that provides palliative care for patients who have a limited life expectancy and require comprehensive biomedical, psychosocial, and spiritual support during a terminal illness or condition. It also supports family members coping with the complex consequences of illness, disability, and aging as death nears. Hospice care further addresses the bereavement needs of the family following the death of the patient.*
  • * National Quality Forum. A National Framework and Preferred Practices for Palliative and Hospice Care Quality A Consensus Report. 2006.


Contact/Participate

Questions about palliative care in Wisconsin? Contact Kathryn Miller at the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health. Want to participate in the project? Email DeAnn Richards at MetaStar.