Addressing Goals of Palliative Care in Advanced Dementia

Melissa Patterson (MD, MBA), Karol DiBello (DNP, FNP-BC, ACHPN), and Frances Eichholz-Heller (LMSW ACHP-SW)

Workshop Description: This workshop will bring together faculty with expertise in palliative care to raise awareness of the importance of planning with families and loved ones in difficult decision at the end of life. As our patients are living longer with increased burden of medical and mental comorbidities it is crucial that health care providers and policy makers consider these discussions in work with patients. The workshop will use a simulation of a family meeting with health care team members to present end-of-life decision making issues of a patient with advanced dementia including

 

• Hospice definition and criteria for advanced dementia as the driving diagnosis
• Benefits of careful handfeeding over percutaneous feeding tubes: The patient will present to the hospital with an aspiration pneumonia, fail a speech pathology swallow evaluation, be offered a PEG (feeding tube) by the medical team. The goal of this in-person workshop will be to highlight the interprofessional team in these important decisions

 

10 minutes: introduction of panel and participants and review of goals
15 minutes: discussion of end-of-life issues (including nutrition and hydration at end-of-life), hospice overview, end stage dementia overview (FAST scoring)
15 minutes discussion of case material background
30 minutes: simulation of family interview
15 minutes wrap up and questions