Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/704061
DIANA FR ANCHIT TO, PRESIDENT & CEO OF HOPEHE ALTH, HA S BEEN A STRONG, LE ADING VOICE IN HOSPICE, PALLIATIVE AND HOME CARE FOR ALMOST A DECADE. IN JANUARY 2016, THE AFFILIATION BE T WEEN HOPEHE ALTH AND HOME CARE & HOSPICE OF NE W ENGL AND WA S COMPLE TED, AND FR ANCHIT TO BECAME THE CEO OF THE E XPANDED REGIONAL ORGANIZ ATION, WHICH IS NOW THE L ARGEST NONPROFIT HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE CARE ORGANIZ ATION IN NE W ENGL AND. Q What is hospice and palliative care, and how can it enhance quality of life as a model of care? Franchitto: Hospice and pa lliative care is a specia lty within medicine focused on providing care to those who are seriously ill. Pa lliative ca re is focused on pa in a nd symptom ma nage- ment a nd providing relief from the symptoms a nd stress of a serious illness. Pa lliative ca re helps fa milies have a clea r understa nding of t heir i l lness a nd treatment options, so that together patients a nd fa milies ca n decide what is most impor ta nt to them. It is a ver y thoughtful approach to ca ring for patients living with a serious illness. When illness progresses, hospice care is a specialized form of palliative care that brings together a team including nurses, chaplains, social workers, home health aides and volunteers to provide intensive support to patients and families who are in the terminal stages of a serious illness. Another key di˜erence is one between cure and comfort. With palliative care, people can pursue aggressive treatment and cure, while usually hospice care is limited to those who have chosen to stop disease-directed therapies like chemotherapy, radiation and dialysis. A major part of the hospice benefit, which many people are not aware exists, is a full year of bereavement support to the patients' family after the patient passes on. The primary focus of hospice is comfort at the end of life and keeping the patient pain- and symptom-free, so that whatever time is left can be spent with family and loved ones. Q Is there a difference in the type of specialists who care for a patient? Franchitto: Pa lliative care is a relatively new specia lty in medicine, which formally began in 2006. To be a physician who specializes in hospice and palliative care now requires board The New President and CEO of HopeHealth DIANA FRANCHITTO 1 8 1 8 ❱❱❱❱❱ C O R N E R O F F I C E Q & A