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December 7 , 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Marjorie Stanzler, The Schwartz Center
(617) 726-0914
Jane Albert, Baystate Medical Center
(413) 794-7750
The Kenneth B. Schwartz Center Awards Baystate
Medical Center Grant to Improve Communication between Caregivers and
Patients and Families at the End-of-Life
Boston — The Schwartz Center awarded Baystate Medical Center
in Springfield, MA, a $75,000 grant in recognition of its innovative
proposal to deliver compassionate, empathic, patient- and family-focused
care, particularly at transition points in the continuum of care at
the end-of-life. Patients and their families frequently feel vulnerable
and alone during these times and need individual attention and support.
Under this grant, Baystate Medical Center and its partners, Heritage
Hall, an assisted-living and skilled nursing facility in Agawam, MA,
and the Baystate Visiting Nurse Association/Hospice, also in Springfield,
will create dedicated core multidisciplinary teams to enhance communication
between patients and caregivers. The goal is to improve patient and
family satisfaction and comfort while simultaneously decreasing strain
on health care professionals. Patients will be assigned a "partner"
from the core team who will visit the patient and reassess communication
and symptom needs whenever the patient moves from one care setting
to another. Additionally, Baystate will use standardized tools to
measure patient and family satisfaction and caregiver stress. Maura
Brennan, MD, director of the geriatric consult program in the Department
of Medicine at Baystate is the principal investigator.
The Schwartz Center created a Call for Proposals in 2005 to identify
best practice models to improve the quality of care provided to families
and patients at the end-of-life. There is growing recognition that
improvements in medical science and health have not only increased
longevity but also have changed the nature of dying. Patients often
take longer to die, and a variety of psychological, emotional and
systematic barriers have impeded the delivery of high quality, well-coordinated,
end-of-life care.
"Baystate's comprehensive and creative program met and exceeded all
the criteria set forth in the Call for Proposals in terms of concept,
goals, outcomes measurements, and potential as a model for improving
end-of-life communication," said Julie Rosen, executive director of
the Schwartz Center.
The Schwartz Center, established in 1995, is an autonomous, not-for-profit
organization, which supports compassionate health care and seeks to
strengthen the relationship between patients and caregivers. The Center
achieves its goals through education, training and support, and public
education.
Baystate Medical Center is accredited as "one of the highest-rated
hospitals in the country" by the Joint Commission on Accreditation
of Healthcare Organizations. The 600-bed teaching hospital is the
western campus of Tufts University School of Medicine, and serves
as a regional resource for specialty medical care and research while
providing comprehensive primary medical services to the community.
About
the Kenneth B. Schwartz Center
Shortly before his death from lung cancer in September of 1995, Kenneth
B. Schwartz, formerly a partner at Mintz, Levin, established a Center
dedicated to strengthening the relationship between patients and caregivers
in the changing health care system. Operating under the 501(c)3 tax
exempt status of the Massachusetts General Hospital, the Kenneth B.
Schwartz Center is an autonomous, nonprofit organization with a mission
to support and advance compassionate health care in which caregivers,
patients and their families relate to one another in a way that provides
hope to the patient, support to caregivers, and sustenance to the
healing process. The Center's most successful and fastest growing
program, the Schwartz Center Rounds, is now operating in over 100
sites in multiple states.
About Baystate Medical
Center
As the flagship hospital of Baystate Health, Baystate Medical Center
in Springfield, MA, is the region's only tertiary care referral
medical center and Level I Trauma Center, and is accredited by the
Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
The American Nurses Credentialing Center has named Baystate Medical
Center a Magnet hospital, recognizing its excellence in nursing
services. The 636-bed academic teaching hospital is the Western
Campus of Tufts University School of Medicine and serves as a regional
resource for specialty medical care and research, while providing
comprehensive primary medical services to the community. Baystate
Medical Center is also the home to the only Children's Hospital
in the region and provides general and specialized care for infants,
children, and adolescents throughout Western New England.
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Visit the Schwartz Center's newest patient-centered initiative at CarePages, where patients, families and friends create free online support communities...