Department of Medicine
Merging Palliative and Critical Care Cultures in the MICU
This study's hypothesis is that a set of clinical and educational interventions will promote the integration of patient-and-family-centered palliative care practice into the medical intensive care unit (MICU).
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Specific Aims of the Project
This is a quality improvement demonstration project whose aims are to:- Improve and standardize physical and psychosocial/spiritual care approaches to the alleviation of suffering for all patients in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) and their families
- Strengthen staff education and support programs to assure that every trainee and practitioner in the MICU is exposed to state-of-the-art palliative care
- Generate, publish, and otherwise disseminate useful evaluation data about transferable improvements, thus allowing us to serve as a model for other ICUs
The study design is a pre-post intervention Quality Demonstration Project.
Our hypothesis is that a set of clinical and educational interventions will promote the integration of patient-and-family-centered palliative care practice into the medical intensive care unit (MICU).
Presentation to the AAHPM in February, 2006
Staff
Principal Investigators
- J. Andrew Billings, MD, Former Director, MGH Palliative Care Service; Associate Professor of Medicine; Co-Director, Harvard Medical School Center for Palliative Care
- Adele Keeley, BSN, MA, RN, Nurse Manager, MGH Medical Intensive Care Unit
Co-Investigators and Study Staff
- Joel Bauman, MD
- Alexandra Cist, MD
- Edward Coakley, RN
- Constance Dahlin, MSN, ANP
- Paul Montgomery, PhD
- Taylor Thompson, MD
- Marilyn Wise, MSW, LICSW
Sponsor
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, "PROMOTING PALLIATIVE CARE EXCELLENCE IN INTENSIVE CARE"
Documents Developed During the Study
- Structured Family Meeting
- Family Meetings Bibliography
- Guide to Family Meetings (3 x 5 format)
- Palliative Care Nurse Champions
- Medical ICU Family Brochure
- Multidisciplinary Rounds
- House Officer Daily Worksheet
- Vent Withdrawal Protocol
- "Get to Know Me" Poster©, used in the MICU, developed by the MGH "Ethics in Clinical Practice" (EICP) committee, a part of the collaborative governance structure in the Patient Care Services department. Ordering information and Guidelines for use are also available.
- "Preparing to be a Health Care Agent" brochure© (not printable). If you would like to purchase bulk copies of this brochure, please contact our print vendor Standard Register at 1-877-771-9063 and refer to item #84668.
- "Planning in Advance for Your Health Care" brochure© (not printable). If you would like to purchase bulk copies of this brochure, please contact our print vendor Standard Register at 1-877-771-9063 and refer to item #84669.