Palliative care is described as care primarily directed toward symptom management and improving the quality of life for the patient and family.

Palliative care, while similar to hospice care, is not limited to those facing a terminal illness (as is the case for hospice care) and can thus be provided to those suffering from chronic diseases which cannot be cured. Palliative care is best provided by a team of professionals, usually including a physician, nurse, social worker and spiritual counselor.

From Last Acts, please view the PDF document entitled "A Vision for Better Care at the End of Life" for more information about palliative care.

Current Palliative Care Initiative:

Palliative Care Capacity Building Project
•  Two-year grant to increase number of health care professionals trained in palliative care and the number of palliative care programs in institutions.

Kaiser Palliative Care Coordination Pilot
•  Home-based care coordination project for Kaiser Permanente Hawai'i members.

This current initiative represents a shared statewide effort to improve palliative care throughout our community. The Kokua Mau Advisory Group members meet monthly to share ideas and projects, help each other, and guide the direction of this important work. Members represent medical centers, community health clinics, hospices, schools, insurers, public citizens, and government agencies.

In January 2004, Kokua Mau launched a two-year palliative care initiative with funding from HMSA Foundation. The goals of the Palliative Care Capacity Building Project are twofold: 1) to increase the number of palliative care-trained healthcare providers in Hawai'i; and 2) to stimulate the development of palliative care programs in local hospitals. This capacity-building project was developed to support other palliative care activities in the community.

The level of collaboration and innovation is unprecedented. Kokua Mau partners HMSA and Kaiser Permanente-Hawai'i both run concurrent palliative care coordination demonstration projects that utilize the healthcare professionals trained under Kokua Mau's palliative care initiative. Such projects continue to improve the delivery of palliative care in Hawai'i , but also serve as models for other communities throughout the country.

Within the last 15 months, Kokua Mau has sponsored the several trainings with grant funding from Rallying Points and support from visiting and local faculty, and plans to support nurses on throughout the state in national hospice & palliative care certification.