Nearly 100 health care professionals from acute and post-acute care facilities gathered to hear from new and early adopters in palliative care continuum programs at the 4th Annual HASC Palliative Care Conference on Feb. 29 at Quiet Cannon in Montebello. Attendees celebrated successes and took a closer look at where they can accelerate the adoption of this growing movement in cost-effective integrated care delivery.

Keynote speaker June Simmons, CEO, Partners in Care Foundation, addressed the current and future state of palliative care programs in the new health care landscape. Other topics included broadening the perception of palliative care, the pros and cons of implementing continuum models, the importance of listening to the patient and their family, and clinical follow-through post-consultation.

Representatives of AltaMed, a designated primary care medical home in Southern California, also reviewed their Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), an alternate model of continuum care.

Small group discussions and an open forum provided newcomers and returning attendees with an opportunity to share their own experiences in palliative care program development and deployment. As a result of this collaborative approach, a HASC list serve dedicated to ongoing knowledge sharing for palliative care professionals is now in development.

HASC thanks our sponsors for their generous support of this event — GeriNet Medical Services, Coalition for Compassionate Care of California, The C.A.R.E. Channel, Grand Canyon University College of Nursing, Health Essentials, Hospice Touch, and Payers & Providers.