About
Community health centers face many challenges to providing patients with optimal end of life care. Primary care may be fragmented from specialty, palliative and hospice care. This six-session Learning Collaborative addressed end of life care, including advance directives, end of life decisions, palliative care, hospice, and caregiver/family support.
The primary objective was for health centers to gain knowledge on key components of end of life care and to develop strategies for providing continuous and quality care for their older adult health center patients facing end of life.
Session Topics and Objectives
The six sessions covered a variety of topics and objectives, including:
Session 1: Why End of Life Care
- Discuss why conversations about end of life care are important.
- Outline the components of end of life care that health centers can focus on.
Session 2: End of Life Decisions: Talking with Your Patients
- Discuss assessment strategies for identifying end of life care goals for health center patients.
- Discuss how health centers can document end of life care including medical decision - making and life - sustaining treatment options.
- Discuss how to engage case managers and or social service staff in end of life care discussions.
Session 3: Advance Directives
- Discuss strategies to document advance directives of health center patients including the ‘living will’.
- Discuss importance of identifying a healthcare proxy or ‘medical power of attorney’.
- Provide examples of advance directive laws by state.
Session 4: End of Life Models: Palliative Care and Hospice
Session 5: Engaging with Family
Session 6: Wrap-Up Session
Request Access to Resources
Registered participants: Email us to access materials for each of the sessions.
Interested in accessing materials from this learning collaborative but you're not affiliated with a HRSA-funded health center or look-alike? Contact us with information about your organization and intended use of our materials.