Foundation Announces Grant To Help Hospitals Create Palliative Care Programs

The most fragile patients often receive the most intensive medical care, and research shows their comfort too often takes a back seat to curative treatment or intervention. Unveiling its signature philanthropic program, Sojourns, The Regence Foundation aims to foster best practices, leadership and collaboration that help people with life-threatening and incurable illness to access quality palliative care in their own community.

Palliative care is a holistic approach that treats the whole person, including management of pain and other discomfort, at any stage of disease while supporting caregivers and families. Depending on a patient’s needs and goals for care, palliative care may be combined with or supplant curative therapies.

“Increasingly, research shows that patients’ treatment desires and comfort are overlooked,” said Michael Alexander, Regence Foundation board chair. “The Regence Foundation seeks to identify best practices in which treatment and care meet with patient and family desires, and to extend those practices to our members, whether they are suffering years with a life-threatening illness or facing a limited prognosis.”

The Regence Foundation’s Sojourns Pathway grants will promote hospital- and community-based palliative care services that help patients, families, and medical and other health professionals get a clear understanding of effective treatment options and patient desires, increasing patient engagement in treatment decisions.

Grants target three phases: Hospitals that need to plan a palliative care program; those that seek to implement a plan for a program and those with a program that seek to expand it through partnerships with other community organizations. Deadlines vary, but the Foundation began accepting proposals for “Innovation” grants on July 20, 2009.

Through an arrangement with the University of California San Francisco Palliative Care Service and Palliative Care Leadership Center, hospitals that receive planning grants will receive training in how to build and sustain an effective palliative care program. Palliative Care Leadership Centers (PCLC) is a national training and mentoring initiative, with direction and technical assistance provided by the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC).

To learn more about Sojourns and to download the Requests for Proposals (RFPs), visit the Regence Foundation Web site.

The Regence Foundation is the corporate foundation of The Regence Group, the largest health insurer in the Northwest/Intermountain region and a not-for-profit independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. A 501(c)3 grantmaking organization, the Foundation partners with organizations driving significant change in health care delivery and accessibility in Idaho, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

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List Of Mesothelioma Doctors In USA

Here are the list of mesothelioma doctors you can find in USA.

Mesothelioma Doctor in Alabama

James W. Ballard, MD
4012 Greystone Drive
Birmingham, AL 35242
email: jwballard@albreader.com

California Mesothelioma Doctor

Robert Cameron, MD
P. O. Box 951741
Los Angeles, California 90095–1741
Phone: 310–794–7333
email: rcameron@mednet.ucla.edu

David Jablon, MD
UCSF Mt. Zion Medical Center
2330 Post St., Suite 420
San Francisco, CA 94115
415–885–3882

Theirry Jahan, MD
2356 Sutter, 7th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94115
415–567–5581

Connecticut Mesothelioma Doctors

Mark Cullen, MD
Yale University School of Medicine
Occupational and Environmental
135 College Street, 3rd floor
New Haven, CT 06510–2483

Jack A. Elias, MD
Pulmonary Medicine
Yale Cancer Center
203–785–4163

Michael Grey, MD
UConn Health Center
263 Farmington Avenue
Farmington, CT 06032

Bruce G. Haffty, MD
Therapeutic Radiology
Yale Cancer Center
203–785–2959

Graeme L. Hammond, MD
Cardiothoracic Therapy
Yale Cancer Center
203.–785–2699

Michael Kashgarian, MD
Pathology
Yale Cancer Center
203–785–2750

Ronald Ponn, MD
Thoracic Surgeon
333 Orchard St., Suite 107
New Haven, CT 06511

Carrie A. Redlich, MD, M.P.H.
Occupational Medicine
Yale Cancer Center
203–737–2817

Washington, DC Mesothelioma Doctors

Cesar A. Moran, MD
Department of the Army
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology
Washington, DC 20306

Paul Sugarbaker, MD
Sugarbaker Oncology Associates, P.C.
110 Irving St., NW
Washington, DC 20010
Phone: 202–877–3908

Mesothelioma Doctor in Florida

Lary A. Robinson, MD
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
At The University of South Florida
12902 Magnolia Dr.
Tampa, FL 33612

John Ruckdeschel, MD
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center
Tampa, FL 33612–9497

Mesothelioma Doctor in Massachusetts

Richard Kraiden, MD
Pulmonary Pathologist
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, MA 02114

David Sugarbaker, MD
Dana Farber Cancer Institute &
Brighams & Womens Hospital
75 Francis Street
Boston, MA 02115

Michigan Mesothelioma Doctors

Harvey Pass, MD
Karmanos Cancer Institute
Detroit, MI
313–745–8746

Gregory P. Kalemkerian, MD
Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Co-Director of Thoracic Oncology
Cancer Center Member
University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center/Ann Arbor, MI
Phone: (734) 936-5281

Mesothelioma Doctors in Minnesota

Arkadiusz Dudek, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant professor of medicine
Phone: 612-624-0123
Email: dudek002@umn.edu

Nebraska Mesothelioma Doctor

Brian Loggie, MD
Creighton University Medical Center
Cancer Center, Suite 2321
601 N. 30th Street
Omaha, NE 68131
Phone: 402–280–5009

New York Mesothelioma Doctors

Manjit Bains, MD
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
1275 York Avenue
New York, NY 10021

Philippe A. Chihanian, MD
Mt. Sinai Hospital
5 East 98 St.
New York, NY 10029
212–241–6368

David Ilson, MD
Borys Mychalczak, MD
Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center
New York, NY

Valerie Rusch, FACS
Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center
1275 York Avenue
New York, NY 10021
Phone: 212–639–5873
email: ruschv@mskcc.org

Stephen Rush, MD
North Shore University Hospital
Manhasset, NY

Roman Perez–Soler, MD
NW York University Kaplan Cancer Center
550 First Avenue
New York, NY 10016
212–263–8043
212–263–6485

Robert N. Taub, MD
Professor of Clinical Medicine, Program Director
Columbia–Presbyterian Hospital
Atchley Pavilion Room 907
161 Fort Washington Ave.
New York, NY

North Carolina Mesothelioma Doctor

David H. Harpole, Jr., MD
Associate Professor of Surgery
Director of General Thoracic Surgery (DUMC)
Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery (Durham VAMC)
Appointments (919) 684-3683

Pennsylvania Mesothelioma Doctors

Larry R. Kaiser, MD
University of Pennsylvania
4th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19104.
Phone: 215–662–7538
Email: Kaiser@mail.med.upenn.edu

Joseph S. Friedberg, MD
Chief of Thoracic Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Philadelphia, PA
Phone: (215) 955-2996 or 1-800-JEFF-NOW (1-800-533-3669)

Rhode Island Mesothelioma Doctors

David Ettensohn, MD
Pulmonary Medicine
109 Beechwood Avenue
Pawtucket, RI

David Kern, MD
Memorial Hospital of RI
Occupational Health Clinic
111 Brewster Street
Pawtucket, RI 02860

John Pella, MD
St. Joseph Hospital
Pulmonary Fatima Unit
200 High Service Avenue
North Providence, RI 02904

S.T. Sambandan, MD
Oncologist
1180 Hope Street
Bristol, RI

Anthony Testa MD
Oncologist
100 Highland Avenue
Providence, RI 02904

South Carolina Mesothelioma Doctors

James Bradof, MD
406 Tiffany Park
Gaffney, SC

Spencer McCachren, MD
Thompson Cancer Center
Knoxville, TN
423–541–1812

Texas Mesothelioma Doctors

W. Roy Smythe, MD
Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center
1515 Holcombe Blvd., Box 39, Rm. R7.2215
Houston, Texas 77030
Phone: 713–792–6933

Claire Verschraegen, MD
Department Of Clinical Investigation
University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center
1515 Holcombe Blvd., Box 39, Rm. R7.2215
Houston, Texas 77030
Phone: 713–792–7959

Washington Mesothelioma Doctors

Samuel Hammer, MD
700 Lebo Road
Bremerton, WA 98310
360–479–7707

Eric Vallieres, MD
Box 356310
1959 NE Pacific
Seattle, WA 98195–6310
Phone: 206–543–3093

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What Are The Alternative Treatment Available For Mesothelioma Patients

Many types of therapy are available to mesothelioma patients that can be used in addition to traditional medical treatments. Many patients have found these alternative therapies to be an excellent way to manage pain, improve general health, and get relief from other disease symptoms. These treatments cannot cure the disease, but they can assist patients in living more comfortably by relieving pain and stress. Alternative treatments that have had value for some mesothelioma patients include acupuncture, aromatherapy, massage, meditation, dietary supplements, TENS therapy, yoga and pet therapy.

Acupuncture
Acupuncture is so widely accepted as an alternative therapy that many insurance companies provide coverage for it. Acupuncture is performed by inserting very fine needles into pressure points at specific locations on the skin. Acupuncture is routinely used to give relief from pain and inflammation and from anxiety or stress. You can find more information on acupuncture at The American Association of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine.

Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy uses fragrance to boost physical and psychological well-being. Distilled and highly concentrated plant-based oils are blended and used by aromatherapists to give relief from pain and other symptoms of the disease. Aromatherapy is often combined with massage therapy, which allows patients to receive a massage with oils that have been mixed with small amounts of the fragrant plant-based oils.

You can find out more about aromatherapy at the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy and Precious Aromatherapy, Inc.

Massage
Massage therapy is known to promote blood and lymphatic flow, boost circulation, and aid in relieving muscle tension. In addition, massage stimulates the digestive and nervous systems, and can relieve chronic pain. Many patients report that massage also reduces anxiety and feelings of stress. Get more information about the benefits of massage therapy at HolisticOnline.com and Alternative Medicine Online.

Meditation
Meditation has long been used as a means to reduce anxiety, feelings of stress and depression. It is also believed that meditation can assist in managing pain and other symptoms of mesothelioma. Many cancer patients who supplement their traditional treatment with meditation find that the practice relieves pain, stress, and anxiety.

Supplements
Many patients feel that the use of supplements is beneficial to their overall health during treatment. Vitamins, minerals, herbs, and amino acids are all dietary supplements. The body requires vitamins, minerals, and amino acids to perform essential life functions, and supplements may provide necessary chemicals when such substances are missing from a patient’s diet. In fact, in one clinical trial of chemotherapy for treating mesothelioma patients, the participants’ average survival and time to cancer progression was improved by the vitamin supplementation of B12 and folic acid.

In addition, many herbs can help to provide relief from symptoms of the disease. Of course, when taking any kind of supplement, a patient should discuss the matter first with his or her physician. Supplements can affect the performance of certain prescription medications. Some supplements may even be dangerous when taken with certain medications. For more information on the use of dietary supplements, visit the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine and About.com’s Common Herb Mistakes.

TENS Therapy
TENS therapy stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. TENS therapy is somewhat similar in principle to acupuncture, in that it stimulates defined body locations. In contrast to acupuncture, which uses fine needles, TENS therapy uses electrodes that deliver very mild electrical shocks to the body location to be stimulated. Like acupuncture, TENS may provide relief from pain and inflammation and from anxiety or stress. Unlike most other alternative therapies, TENS has been approved by the FDA. This means that, according to the FDA, the procedure is safe and that TENS therapy may be covered by insurance. You can find more information on TENS Therapy at Health Scout and BBC Health.

Yoga
Yoga began in India, where it is practiced more to promote spirituality than physical well-being. But in the U.S., yoga has been recognized as a form of exercise that is also psychologically calming. Simple yoga techniques can help improve a patient’s general health and state of mind.

Pet Therapy
Pet therapy is also referred to as animal-assisted therapy or animal-assisted activities. The goal of pet therapy is to improve a patient’s general health and well-being by allowing the patient to interact with animals. The soothing effects of simply stroking a dog or cat have long been known to improve a patient’s mood and lift the spirits. In addition, the interaction even offers some physical benefits, such as, for example, the temporary lowering of blood pressure. Get more information at The Delta Society.

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What Is Pallative Treatment?

Aside from surgery, radiotheraphy and chemotheraphy, mesothelioma patients can be be treated also with Palliative treat.

Palliative treatment, which is also called palliative care, is treatment designed to relieve the symptoms of disease and improve quality of life. It can address psychological, social and spiritual needs as well as physical symptoms. With regard to physical symptoms, it aims to treat the symptoms of disease but is not meant to cure the illness. In cases of advanced cancer, palliative treatment may sometimes extend life and help the patient live more comfortably, even if the cancer cannot be cured.

Palliative treatment goes well beyond painkillers and anti-nausea drugs. Chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormone therapy, biological therapy and surgery can all be used as palliative treatments under the right circumstances. Often, the level of pain associated with mesothelioma is quite high. Thus, pain control is usually one of the first symptoms addressed by palliative care, and it is important for the patient to be able to help the doctor accurately assess the pain the patient is experiencing. This may include traditional pain management programs, involving several different pain medications. Palliative care can also focus on behavior modification, managing stress, meditation or massage therapy. Palliative surgery may be performed to reduce pain caused by the tumor or to prevent fluid from building up and causing discomfort. Radiation therapy is also useful in relieving pain caused by mesothelioma. Palliative care plays an important role in maximizing the quality of life for mesothelioma patients.

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