New Ohio Palliative Care Law Strengthens Support for Patients and Family Caregivers

Focus on provider training, increased access, voice of family caregivers

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Dec 21, 2018, 18:21 ET

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Dec. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AARP Ohio commends Representative Sarah LaTourette for sponsorship and the Ohio General Assembly and Governor John Kasich for passage of House Bill 286, legislation that will improve the quality of life of patients and their family caregivers through palliative care.

Palliative care is a team-based specialty focused on providing relief to patients from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness — care that you can get at any age and at any
stage of your illness. A typical palliative care team might include physicians, nurses and
social workers.

New Ohio law improves access and training for palliative care which research suggests may prolong a person’s life.

Research suggests palliative care may even prolong a person's life. It has been shown to
ease symptoms like fatigue, shortness of breath and depression, while reducing avoidable hospital costs.

House Bill 286 will create the Palliative Care and Quality of Life Interdisciplinary Council and establish the Palliative Care Consumer and Professional Information and Education Program. The goal of these new teams is to ensure that people are given more opportunities to make informed decisions about the appropriate range of medical and palliative options by improving the knowledge base about such care the new law establishes.

"The Palliative Care and Quality of Life Interdisciplinary Council also will include representation of family caregivers. Ohio's 1.4 million family caregivers are the hidden heroes of our health care system and play a critical role in helping their loved ones," said AARP Ohio State Director Barbara A. Sykes. "We are very pleased that family caregivers will have representation on the Council."

The new law will also require health care facilities to identify patients who could benefit from palliative care, and authorize hospice care programs to provide palliative care in their inpatient facilities to non-hospice patients.

"AARP Ohio strongly supports improved access to palliative care services regardless of patient setting," said Sykes. "We see great value in improved training and continuing education programs for health care professionals that would focus on the patient-centered approach of palliative care."

AARP
AARP is the nation's largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering Americans 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 38 million members and offices in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, AARP works to strengthen communities and advocate for what matters most to families with a focus on health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also works for individuals in the marketplace by sparking new solutions and allowing carefully chosen, high-quality products and services to carry the AARP name. As a trusted source for news and information, AARP produces the world's largest circulation publications, AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org or follow @AARP and @AARPadvocates on social media.

SOURCE AARP Ohio