Palliative Care Program for Persons Living with Dementia

Lead Institution:

Dr. Jeffrey Keller, Pennington Biomedical Research Center

Additional Partners:

Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center

Launchpad Award Date:

May 2022

"Palliative Care Program for Persons Living with Dementia” facilitates palliative care coordination for patients living with dementia. Palliative care is known to maximize the quality of life for patients who are in their final stages of life, minimize the burden on caregivers, and reduce the overall medical costs incurred for the patient.

A pilot project led by Pennington Biomedical Research Center and in partnership with Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, integrates a novel palliative care platform into the health system records of care providers. The platform supports patient health outcomes by allowing various health systems to communicate about and coordinate a patient’s care in a central location. By eliminating gaps in the care continuum, patients living with dementia, and their caregivers, can rest assured that everyone is on the same page regarding the complex medical needs of this patient population. Outcomes of this Launchpad Pilot Project include improved access to hospice care services for the over 100 patients enrolled in the project. Additionally, the palliative care platform provided a secure space for healthcare staff to document patient assessments and evaluations which proved helpful for obtaining insurance authorization on behalf of participating hospice patients.