Washington Hospital Healthcare System Awarded $500,000 Grant for Outpatient Palliative Care

FREMONT, Calif., Sept. 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Washington Hospital Healthcare System is the recipient of a three-year grant totaling $500,000 to support its expansion of palliative care services to outpatients. The grant will support Washington Hospital's ongoing efforts to improve serious illness care and support services for patients and their families.

The Palliative Care Program at Washington Hospital provides patients support when managing a chronic disease and/or a serious or life-threatening illness. Palliative care is provided by a specially trained team that includes doctors, a nurse practitioner, a palliative care coordinator, a social worker, a spiritual care provider and other specialists who work together with a patient's doctors to provide an extra layer of support.

"We are pleased with the Stupski Foundation's trust in our Healthcare System's commitment to improving the quality of life for our patients," said CEO Kimberly Hartz. "Expanding palliative care is fundamentally important for people living with a serious illness."

At Washington Hospital, palliative care is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness, and can be provided along with curative treatment. Palliative care is a medical specialty that gives patients relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness and improves quality of life for the patient and their loved ones.  

"We're excited to partner with Washington Hospital as it grows its outpatient palliative care program building on the success of its inpatient palliative care service," said Dan Tuttle, director of health at the Stupski Foundation. "The Hospital serves a diverse population across southern Alameda county with unique care needs. The team leading this expansion has been thoughtful about designing the new service to best address their patients' varied social, cultural, spiritual, and linguistic needs."

Unlike hospice care, palliative care is not only for patients at the end of life and is often recommended to patients upon diagnosis of a serious illness. Palliative care connects patients and their caregivers to community services, and offers emotional and spiritual support. 

This is the first grant awarded to Washington Hospital Healthcare System from the Stupski Foundation.   

About Washington Township Health Care District
Washington Township Health Care District is governed by an elected board and includes Washington Hospital Healthcare System. Unlike a municipal or county hospital, Washington Hospital's operating expenses, research, community programs, and employee salaries are funded by revenues generated through providing patient and other health care services. Opened in 1958, Washington Hospital Healthcare System has grown to include a 341-bed, acute-care hospital; Morris Hyman Critical Care Pavilion, Taylor McAdam Bell Neuroscience Institute; The Gamma Knife® Center; Washington Radiation Oncology Center; Washington Outpatient Surgery Center; Washington Outpatient Rehabilitation Center; Institute for Joint Restoration and Research; Washington Township Medical Foundation; and Washington West, a complex which houses UCSF – Washington Cancer Center, Washington Women's Center, Outpatient Imaging Center, Sandy Amos RN Infusion Center, Washington Urgent Care and additional outpatient hospital services and administrative facilities. Discover more at whhs.com, and through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

About the Stupski Foundation
The Stupski Foundation is investing all of its assets in the next 10 years to address some of the Bay Area's and Hawaii's biggest challenges so one day everyone can benefit from the wealth of opportunities and resources in the places we call home. The Stupski Foundation primarily funds organizations in the Bay Area and Hawaii that address hunger, postsecondary success, early brain development and serious illness care.

Contact: Gisela Hernandez
Phone: (510) 818-7802
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Washington Hospital Healthcare System