Press Release Headlines

CSU Institute for Palliative Care and Kaiser Permanente Team Up for National Healthcare Decision Day

SAN MARCOS, Calif., April 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — CSU Institute for Palliative Care (Institute) (www.csupalliativecare.org), along with other national, state and community organizations, is participating in an effort to bring attention to the importance of having advance healthcare directives in place. Wednesday April 16th is National Healthcare Decisions Day.

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"Healthcare decision making can begin with a simple conversation, but like all aspects of caregiving, even that first conversation takes place more easily with a bit of preparation. With so many families split by miles, the challenges of both caregiving and decision-making are heightened," says Helen McNeal, Executive Director of CSU Institute for Palliative Care.

As part of efforts to bring awareness to the importance of healthcare decision making, the Institute has partnered with Kaiser Permanente's Care Management Institute to design a webinar series for Kaiser Permanente employees to better understand health care decision making in the context of caregiving. The webinar series, "Caring for Those You Care About," covers different aspects of caring for someone—while still caring for oneself.

"Many individuals across our workforce may be caring for someone with a long-term illness or disability," said Cathy Chen, MPH, Principal Consultant for the Care Management Institute. Caregiving can be a positive and nurturing experience, but it can also be stressful for those already managing the challenges of a job and family of their own. With our patients, we stress the importance of planning ahead for decision-making and caregiving. We are presenting the CSU Institute for Palliative Care's program, Caring for Those You Care About, to our employees so that they can also benefit from information that will assist with their own healthcare decision-making and caregiving challenges."

About the CSU Institute for Palliative Care

The CSU Institute for Palliative Care is America's first statewide educational and workforce development initiative dedicated to palliative care. The Institute offers professional development and continuing education courses designed to enhance the skills of current and future health care professionals. It also delivers customized corporate educational and community awareness programs designed to increase awareness of palliative care across California and around the nation.

Contact: Steve Dahl, CSU Institute for Palliative Care, Email, 760-750-7292