Early next year, the John D. Thompson Hospice Institute in Branford, Connecticut, and Yale's experts in the department of epidemiology and public health (EPH) will launch a three-year educational program to provide opportunities to make a major impact on access to palliative care for the terminally ill.
"Our partnership with Yale will provide a much-needed educational effort about hospice and palliative care," says Rosemary Johnson-Hurzeler, the institute's president and chief executive officer. "The care provided, as well as the related educational and research programs, will focus on life, not death," she adds.
Dr. Michael H. Merson, dean for public health at Yale, adds "This collaborative project will demonstrate that we can significantly increase the knowledge of and access to hospice and palliative care through the education of care-givers."
Elizabeth H. Bradley, assistant professor of public health and the project's research director, explains: "We intend to offer a 12-month formal education program to physicians, nurses and other health-care providers at three randomly selected acute-care hospitals in this state. We will measure medical professionals' attitudes and their use of hospice services both before and after they complete the educational program."
The program was designed by the John D. Thompson Hospice Institute for Education, Training and Research, Inc. and its affiliate, the Connecticut Hospice.
In future years, the John D. Thompson Hospice Institute (named for a late Yale EPH faculty member) and Connecticut Hospice anticipate making this educational program available to hospitals throughout Connecticut.
"As we gather statistical information, we expect that this research will allow real changes in the way that palliative and hospice care is accessed and provided," Dr. Bradley adds