Omega
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In 1948, Dame Cicely Saunders, the founder of the modem hospice movement, established a core principle of palliative care, Total Pain, which is defined as physical, spiritual, psychological, and social suffering. In 2009, a consensus panel (Puchalski, Ferrell, Virani, Otis-Green, Baird, Bull, et al., 2009) was convened to address the important issue of integrating spirituality in palliative care, which led to renewed efforts to focus on spiritual care as a critical component of quality palliative care. This project is a combination of advocacy for the importance of spiritual care, training chaplains, seminarians, community clergy, and healthcare professionals in palliative care, and creating a spiritual care curriculum which can be self-taught or taught to members of transdisciplinary teams.
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This article presents attempts to improve the quality of spiritual care offered to palliative care patients by educating nursing and other staff about spiritual screening with the goal of increasing referrals to a board certified chaplain. Attention to patients' spiritual identity and spiritual needs upon admission and throughout a hospitalization through either a formalized screening tool or provider awareness and sensitivity can assist patients in naming their needs, thus triggering a referral to a board certified chaplain or other spiritual counselor. Along with a spiritual care plan based upon assessment of spiritual needs and resources facilitates the healing process.
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A growing body of research and clinical reports support the benefits of utilizing animal-assisted therapy (AAT) as a complementary, transdisciplinary treatment intervention in medical settings. However, fewer articles are found demonstrating AAT's use in palliative care settings. This article is a study of the effects of AAT in palliative care situations, presenting one anecdotal clinical vignette. In this way, the efficacy of this technique in decreasing patient pain, thereby increasing patient quality of life, and lowering staff stress levels may be illustrated.
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The University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMCCC) Grief and Loss Program provides supportive care services during bereavement which is considered part of the care continuum. This program received 50 death notifications per month upon project initiation and currently receives approximately 125 per month. Initial program evaluation was conducted via a pilot survey of bereaved parents as well as verbal and written evaluations from the transdisciplinary staff of Patient and Family Support Services. ⋯ Based on program evaluation, grief support continues through the use of mail/e-mail and phone calls to those at risk for complicated grief Three to four gatherings per year are offered rather than monthly support groups, and connections to community resources are provided. The Comfort And Resources at End of Life (C-A-R-E) program was implemented to support and educate staff. Next steps include further program evaluation and potential research to examine best practices for the bereaved.
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As society has become increasingly inquisitive about complementary therapies, various sectors of the medical community have begun to incorporate complementary therapies into their practice, studying their impact on client health and effectiveness in treating specific symptoms. This article describes the design and initial findings from a 1-year review of the implementation of massage and Reiki therapies on patients in a small hospice and palliative care program in central Connecticut. Over the course of 1 year, 114 massage sessions were provided to 52 different patients, all of which included Reiki. After completion of these sessions, patients were evaluated for changes in symptoms such as pain reduction, ease in breathing, stress/anxiety reduction, and increased relaxation, with the results being predominantly beneficial.