Page 20 - SF HOSPITAL NEWS NOVEMBER 2020

HOSPICE & PALLIATIVE CARE IN SOUTH FLORIDA

Long-Term Effects of COVID-19 Underscore the Need for Palliative Care

As I write this in mid- Alzheimer’s and Parkin - 2019 report that a system of care reim- with chronic kidney disease and a
October, the Florida Depart - son’s, among other illnesses. bursement for public and private payors September paper in the Journal of
ment of Health has recorded Studies suggest that by allo- must be developed for palliative care. Parkinson's Disease called the projected
306,665 cases of COVID-19 cating resources to specific That same report, published one year increase in long-term neurological con-
in South Florida. With no patient and family needs, before the pandemic began, predicted sequences the “silent wave” of COVID-
idea when the pandemic palliative care reduces the that home-based palliative care could 19.
will end, whether it will total cost of home-based reduce the nation’s overall health care The call to action of this growing body
return and what the long- care by 36%, cuts hospital costs by $103 billion during the next two of research is clear. Community-based
term effects on some admissions in half and low- decades. Those savings will increase in palliative care should be elevated in
patients will be, health care ers emergency room visits the wake of COVID-19. importance to a primary method of treat-
providers continue to fortify by more than one-third. Consensus among health care ing symptoms, improving outcomes and
their facilities from the Providing community- researchers indicates that ignoring the quality of life, and reducing utilization of
virus, deliver patient care BY KEITH A. MYERS based palliative care has possible long-term effects of COVID-19 health care services.
and prepare for a possible taken on new urgency dur- poses significant risk to our nation’s As we anxiously await a vaccine and
next phase. ing the pandemic, as home- health and our health care system. The new therapeutics to treat COVID-19,
Among the most promising strategies based care can help prevent transmis- Kaiser Family Foundation estimates 41% community-based palliative care can play
to reduce utilization of health care sion. Citing this, more than 60 groups of adults ages 18 and older have a higher an important role. Designated by the
resources is community-based palliative including the National Hospice & risk of developing more serious illness Florida Legislature as the only Teaching
care, provided in hospital as well as at Palliative Care Organization, National after having COVID-19 due to age, Hospice in the state, MorseLife Hospice
home, to treat advanced illness for longer Coalition for Hospice & Palliative Care, underlying health conditions or both. and Palliative Care is on the leading-edge
than the period just before death. National Association of Home Care & The Mayo Clinic sites imaging tests of sustainable best practices for dealing
Beyond improving outcomes for Hospice and the Center for the taken months after recovery showing with the long-term effects of the pan-
patients in hospital battling COVID-19, Advancement of Palliative Care have sent lasting damage to heart muscle, even in demic for years to come.
community-based palliative care can be letters to the U.S. Department of Health people who experienced only mild
the most effective solution for those fac- and Human Services requesting a COVID-19 symptoms. The type of pneu- Keith Myers is president and CEO
ing long-term effects of the virus and demonstration to test community-based monia often associated with COVID-19 MorseLife Health System and Palm Beach
other diseases. At MorseLife Hospice and palliative care benefit programs within can cause long-term lung damage. Hospice and Palliative Care.
Palliative Care in West Palm Beach, we Medicare. Researchers at the Icahn School of He is the Not-For-Profit Vice President on
see patients living with cancer, conges- On the state level, the non-partisan Medicine at Mount Sinai suggest there the Board of Directors of the Florida
tive heart failure, COPD, kidney failure, Florida Tax Watch stated in a March will be a significant increase in patients Health Care Association.

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20 November 2020 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News