Palliative Care Providers Get Creative to Boost Utilization

While a critical service for patients with serious illnesses, palliative care is vastly underutilized nationwide. Providers have gotten creative in their efforts to improve utilization, with some incorporating pets into nursing visits with patients.

Lacking public awareness and patient misconceptions are among the leading causes for lagging palliative care utilization. Many patients and families don’t fully understand the nature of these services and their benefits, often conflating palliative care with hospice.

Pets can be a bridge to building patient trust in palliative care programs, according to Michael Fratkin, CMO of ResolutionCare, a Vynca company.

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The California-based palliative and telehealth company employs a network of interdisciplinary home-based providers that deliver virtual care to patients. Staff companion animals frequently make appearances during patient visits and can open up lines of communication, according to Fratkin.

“Every day the presence of people in the presence of their own pets impacts their well-being and that of the people they are serving,” Fratkin told Hospice News in an email. “The unique nature of working from your home — our settings [and] our beloved companion animals — invites similar sharing from the people we care for as they let us into the things that matter most of them [and] that make the most difference.”

Though many staff companion animals make their way onto virtual visits at ResolutionCare, a talking parakeet named Yoda is making waves in patient care. His interaction with patients has been so impactful that Fratkin joked about putting him on the payroll.

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After receiving palliative care services, a patient gave Yoda to Kathy Mize, registered nurse at ResolutionCare. Yoda began to show a lot of interest in talking and interacting with patients early on, said Mize. As he grew, the parakeet inadvertently became an integral part of patient care.

“He kept choosing to be with me whenever I was on with a patient,” Mize told Hospice News. “His timing is hilarious and a little spooky with some of what he says. He insists on attention and acknowledgement from the people we see, leaning toward the camera and chattering. All seem to love his personality and joyful nature. I think that animals are open and accepting, which makes them innately able to get around subconscious protective barriers people put up.”

The parakeet has been involved in patient care for the past two years. Some of his phrases were taught, while others were learned and modified. Yoda’s frequent sayings on virtual patient visits include: “Yoda is a nurse! How are you doing? Did you sleep good? Eating OK? I get it. I’ve got you. Hi cutie! Whatcha doin’, chickadoodle? I’ve got to go call a patient. I love you. I am magical.”

Yoda isn’t the only animal bridging gaps of utilization. Animals have impacted care for seriously and terminally ill patients for some time. More hospice and palliative care providers have diversified and expanded their services to include pet programming. Providers have increasingly recognized the benefits of offering pet therapy as an innovative way to boost patient awareness.

Along with other staff companion animals such as cats and dogs, Yoda has aided in ResolutionCare’s ability to personalize and enhance its services, as well as drive up engagement with patients, according to Fratkin.

Pet therapy “is a trick that is natural” for the digital care company to incorporate, he added.

The parakeet has gained traction in community awareness, in part due to his appearances shared on Mize’s personal social media. Talking about Yoda within her local community has impacted utilization of palliative care services, she stated.

Some patients who were at first adverse to learning about and receiving this care became more receptive after hearing about Yoda’s impact, Mize told Hospice News.

“In my local community, I have definitely had more requests for information about our services since I started sharing Yoda videos on social media,” said Mize. “I am asked regularly when I run into local folks if Yoda sees patients with me. The next question is generally what it takes to qualify for our services, and what those services are.”

Additionally, Yoda’s presence can bring an ease to difficult conversations with patients, Mize continued, with his attendance often requested among patients. Patients experiencing stress or worry at the start of a virtual visit often shift focus from fears about their illness to enjoying the “goofy antics of a creature just being itself,” she said.

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