The Palliative Care KEG aims to unite SCCM members who have an interest in palliative medicine. SCCM has long endorsed the values and principles of palliative care with initiatives such as THRIVE, ICU Liberation, Post-Intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) Collaborative, and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research – Intensive Care Unit (PCOR-ICU). This KEG will serve SCCM members and benefit patients and families through the following goals and objectives:
- Explain the symbiotic relationship between critical care and palliative care
- Emphasize the need for standardized integration of palliative care principles as a core element of critical care management
- Outline important areas of intersection of critical care and palliative care from diagnosis through treatment, ICU discharge, or end-of-life care
- Promote and develop opportunities for education and improvement at each juncture identified above
- Hone skills related to recognition, assessment, and management of pain and noxious symptoms
- Provide fundamental tools to improve communication between teams and with patients and families to align care plans with patient and family values and goals
- Empower and support members in developing palliative care models within their unique program structures
- Facilitate a forum for networking and collaboration within SCCM that promotes research, quality improvement, and clinical initiatives focused on palliative care in the ICU
Co-chairs
Joshua B. Kayser, MD, MPH, MBE, FCCM, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Andrew J. Macfadyen, MD, Children's Hospital & Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA