Midwest Palliative & Hospice CareCenter and Northwestern Memorial Hospital enter into a collaborative agreement for hospice services

CHICAGO, March 6, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Midwest Palliative & Hospice CareCenter announced today that it has entered into a collaborative agreement to provide hospice services to patients and families of Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Midwest CareCenter has one of the largest groups of specialists – physicians and advance practice nurses – in palliative care and hospice and the only music-thanatology program for hospice patients in Illinois. The organization's mission is to provide world-class hospice and palliative care.

"We look forward to welcoming Northwestern's hospice patients and families into the Midwest CareCenter family of care," says Jamie O'Malley, MS, RN, president and CEO of Midwest CareCenter. "No one should face a serious or terminal illness alone. That is why hospice care, provided by leading professionals in end-of-life care, is so important to patients and families. Our expert clinical teams blend high-quality medical care with innovative approaches to give patients their best possible day today."

Midwest CareCenter provides hospice and palliative care services to patients and their families in 150 communities. As a result, each year thousands of Chicago area individuals and their families receive compassionate and high-quality care. The organization has a long history as an award-winning innovator in healthcare, continually evolving the meaning of care and perfecting ways it can make people feel better and also be better. Its clinical experts listen carefully and respect patient goals, preferences and choices, with sensitivity to religious and cultural preferences. Midwest CareCenter services include palliative care, hospice and grief support.

"Our decision was based almost exclusively on the expertise and reputation of Midwest CareCenter," says Dennis M. Murphy, executive vice president, Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and chief operating officer, Northwestern Memorial Hospital. "As a nationally recognized palliative care and hospice provider, Midwest CareCenter is the ideal partner. The organization serves patients in our area, shares our values, and is committed to extending patients and families exemplary support for care that is stable and pain-free all within the comforting surroundings of home."

Hospice is end-of-life medical and supportive care that seeks to enhance patient/family quality of life during the final months of life, assisting patients in living as fully and comfortably as possible.

Midwest CareCenter provides team-based and supportive care to patients and families facing the end of life through some of the most highly regarded care professionals in the world. The team works together to support the whole patient, providing pain and symptom relief, emotional support, advocacy for personal needs, and complimentary therapies.

ABOUT MIDWEST CARECENTER – As one of the first 50 hospices in the U.S., Midwest CareCenter has provided exceptional team-based care to thousands of hospice patients as well as assisting adults and children through their mourning and grief. The organization includes a nationally-recognized Palliative Care Services program, and collaborates with other healthcare professionals to ensure support for patients with advanced and complex medical issues. Midwest CareCenter is a recipient of the American Hospital Association Circle of Life Award and also accredited by The Joint Commission, the nation's oldest and largest standards-setting and accrediting body in healthcare.  In 2012, Midwest CareCenter was named a Top 100 Workplace by the Chicago Tribune.

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL HEALTHCARE- Northwestern Memorial HealthCare is the parent corporation of Chicago's Northwestern Memorial Hospital, an 894-bed academic medical center hospital and Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital, a 201-bed community hospital located in Lake Forest, Illinois. 

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL- Northwestern Memorial is one of the country's premier academic medical center hospitals and is the primary teaching hospital of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.  Along with its Prentice Women's Hospital and Stone Institute of Psychiatry, the hospital has 1,705 affiliated physicians and 6,769 employees.  Northwestern Memorial is recognized for providing exemplary patient care and state-of-the art advancements in the areas of cardiovascular care; women's health; oncology; neurology and neurosurgery; solid organ and soft tissue transplants and orthopaedics.

Northwestern Memorial has nursing Magnet Status, the nation's highest recognition for patient care and nursing excellence.  And, Northwestern Memorial ranks 12^th in the nation in the U.S. News & World Report 2012 Honor Roll of "America's Best Hospitals". The hospital is ranked in 12 of 16 clinical specialties rated by U.S. News and is No. 1 in Illinois and Chicago in U.S. News' 2012 state and metro rankings, respectively. For 12 years running, Northwestern Memorial has been rated among the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" guide by Working Mother magazine. The hospital is a recipient of the prestigious National Quality Health Care Award and has been chosen by Chicagoans as the Consumer Choice according to the National Research Corporation's annual survey for 13 years. 

SOURCE Midwest Palliative & Hospice CareCenter