For Immediate Release

CONTACT: Erin Vadala, Warner Communications

978-468-3076 or erin@warnerpr.com

NEIGHBORS CARING FOR NEIGHBORS: NATICK VNA LAUNCHES “COMFORTCARE” -
PALLIATIVE CARE AT HOME

Program supports patients and their families in managing pain and relieving symptoms of advanced illnesses such as cancer, ALS, or multiple sclerosis

(Natick, MA – November 1, 2010) – Having served the communities of MetroWest Boston for over 100 years, the nurses and clinicians of the Natick Visiting Nurse Association (www.natickvna.org) have always sought to help people live longer and sustain a high quality of life while remaining independent in their own homes, for as long as possible. But for patients battling advanced illness, this goal can become particularly challenging. Today, the Natick VNA announces “ComfortCare” a new approach to palliative care provided to patients in their homes. The program is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for patients suffering from serious, chronic or terminal conditions accompanied by intense pain.

To palliate: to make comfortable by treating the symptoms and pain from serious illness*

"Providing palliative care is essentially healing at a higher level, and something we’ve been providing to patients in need for quite some time," said Judith Boyko, CEO of the Natick VNA, which provides services to patients in more than 20 towns. "Now by formalizing our efforts, we are even better able to help our patients and their families and provide them with more options for care. Many of these patients have developed strong, trusting relationships with our staff members over the years, and prefer to stay with them at a time when they’re feeling more vulnerable.”

Palliative care focuses on pain control and relief from related symptoms—particularly for individuals who want to maintain the highest possible quality of life despite diagnoses such as terminal cancer, end-stage chronic congestive heart failure, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), multiple sclerosis or end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary (lung) disease. In addition to improving the quality of life, palliative care may actually extend it. In a Massachusetts General Hospital study of 151 Boston-area patients with lung cancer, those who received early palliative care lived longer, achieved better symptom management, and were less depressed and anxious than patients getting standard care.

“With this specialized program, the Natick VNA is now delivering the cutting edge in palliative care services,” said Carol Curtiss, MSN, RN- BC, health education consultant, faculty member at Tufts University School of Medicine Pain Research, Education and Policy (PREP), and a nationally recognized speaker on pain and symptom management. “Palliative care may be offered any time during a serious illness. The Natick VNA is unique among local organizations as the first home care agency to establish a formal program of palliative care available to patients in their homes. This program offers comprehensive care and allows patients to maintain already established relationships with their visiting nurses and other staff whom they know and trust."

The Natick VNA’s new program enables patients to remain at home while being taken care of by an interdisciplinary team of nurses certified in pain management and hospice and palliative care, as well as rehabilitation therapists, social workers, home health aides among others. All have extensive experience caring for patients with chronic disease.

Working closely with patients’ primary physicians, the Natick VNA’s palliative care team offers support to patients and their loved ones to control pain, manage medications, and relieve other symptoms such as breathing problems, restlessness, or nausea. The team works together to make each patient more comfortable, and meets weekly to discuss each individual’s healthcare needs. Cold laser therapy, massage and the services of a personal chef are some of the other therapies that can be made available to patients.

In addition to quality of life and symptom/pain management, the Natick VNA program addresses caregiver wellbeing and bereavement. Social workers are available to patients and their loved ones to discuss such issues as anticipatory grief, end of life planning, the dying process, alternative therapies, and to make connections with clergy upon request. A specially trained social worker experienced in bereavement also visits families periodically after the death of a loved one to help them adjust to their new life situations.

“The Natick VNA is a local institution with local staff,” said Stanley Sabin, MD and volunteer Medical Director, Natick VNA Professional Advisory Committee. “They appreciate that there’s a certain familiarity to taking care of people with whom you share a community. That plays a big part in helping to comfort patients and is a great advantage for the Natick VNA.”

To learn more about the Natick VNA’s Palliative Care Program, please visit www.natickvna.org.

About Natick VNA

For over 111 years, the Natick Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) of Natick, Massachusetts has been serving more than 20 communities in MetroWest Boston. As the area’s premier free-standing, not-for-profit home health care agency, Natick VNA helps patients of all ages reduce hospitalizations and live with maximum independence in their own homes. Utilizing the latest in home care technology, Natick VNA’s highly skilled, professional and compassionate caregivers make over 60,000 home visits each year to more than 2,100 people, seeing 350 patients every day. The Natick VNA endeavors to provide care, regardless of a patient’s ability to pay. The organization’s primary service area includes: Ashland, Dover, Framingham, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hudson, Marlborough, Medfield, Medway, Millis, Natick, Needham, Newton, Northborough, Sherborn, Southborough, Sudbury, Wayland, Wellesley, Westborough, and Weston. For more information, please visit: www.natickvna.org. *Source for definition: National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.