New Jersey-2020-SCR46-Introduced

A Concurrent Resolution urging Congress to pass the "Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act" and fund initiatives to expand palliative care.

Whereas, Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with serious illness. This type of care is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family; and

Whereas, Palliative care is provided by a specially-trained team of doctors, nurses, and other specialists who work together with a patient's other doctors to provide an extra layer of support. It is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness, and it can be provided concurrently with curative treatment; and

Whereas, As the U.S. population ages and develops chronic, progressive illnesses, it is generally understood that there will be an insufficient number of palliative care specialists to serve all patients with serious illness and their families and caregivers; and

Whereas, Traditional medical education focuses on providing physicians with the skills to diagnose and treat illness. Optimal end-of-life care requires a physician to be able to diagnose, prognosticate, establish goals of care with the patient based on the prognosis, and then provide treatment to best respect and effectuate the mutually agreed upon goals of care. As such, there is a need for physicians specializing in palliative care to effectively communicate with patients and their families on advance care planning, end-of-life care, and informed consent discussions; and

Whereas, On June 27, 2018, the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health passed H.R.1676, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA). This legislation will authorize the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants or contracts for Palliative Care and Hospice Education Centers, promote the career development of nurses and physicians in palliative care through fellowship funding and academic career awards, and promote research and outreach in the delivery of care for patients with serious or life-threatening illness; and

Whereas, The Senate version of PCHETA, S.693, was introduced on March 22, 2017, and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and H.R.1676 was received in the Senate and referred to the same committee on July 24, 2018; and

Whereas, There are currently only two one-year palliative care fellowships in New Jersey: one at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University and one at the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine; and

Whereas, Due to the shortage of palliative care fellowship programs in New Jersey, there is a growing need and opportunity for improvement in end-of-life care. Multidisciplinary palliative care teams are needed in both the inpatient and outpatient settings; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey (the General Assembly concurring):

1. Congress is urged to pass the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA), thereby providing invaluable resources, such as fellowship funding, to expand and improve end-of-life care for all Americans.

2. The New Jersey Congressional delegation is urged to work with this Legislature to help fund initiatives in end-of-life care, such as a carve-out from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services graduate medical education funding cap for palliative care fellowships, and State-designated graduate medical education payments targeted to State institutions that create palliative care fellowship programs.

3. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly or the Secretary of the Senate to the presiding officers of the Congress of the United States and each member of the United States Congress elected from the State of New Jersey.

STATEMENT

This resolution urges Congress to pass the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA), thereby providing invaluable resources such as fellowship funding in order to expand and improve end-of-life care for all Americans. The resolution also urges the New Jersey Congressional delegation to work with this Legislature to help fund initiatives in end-of-life care, such as a carve-out from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services graduate medical education funding cap for palliative care fellowships, and State-designated graduate medical education payments targeted to State institutions looking to create palliative care fellowship programs.

Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with serious illness. This type of care is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness. Palliative care is provided by a specially-trained team of doctors, nurses and other specialists who work together with a patient's other doctors to provide an extra layer of support. It is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness, and it can be provided along with curative treatment.

As the U.S. population ages and develops chronic, progressive illnesses, it is generally understood that there will be an insufficient number of palliative care specialists to serve all patients with serious illness and their families and caregivers.

Traditional medical education focuses on providing physicians with the skills to diagnose and treat illness. Optimal end-of-life care requires a physician to be able to diagnose, prognosticate, establish goals of care with the patient based on the prognosis, and then provide treatment to best respect and effectuate the mutually agreed upon goals of care. As such, there is a need for physicians specializing in palliative care to effectively communicate with patients and their families on advance care planning, end-of-life care, and informed consent discussions.

On June 27, 2018, the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health passed H.R.1676, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA). This legislation will authorize the Department of Health and Human Services to award grants or contracts for Palliative Care and Hospice Education Centers, promote the career development of nurses and physicians in palliative care through fellowship funding and academic career awards, and promote research and outreach in the delivery of care for patient with serious or life-threatening illness. The Senate version of PCHETA, S.693, was introduced on March 22, 2017, and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and H.R.1676 was received in the Senate and referred to the same committee on July 24, 2018.

Currently, there are only two one-year palliative care fellowships in New Jersey: one at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University and one at the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine. Due to the shortage of palliative care fellowship programs in New Jersey, there is a growing need and opportunity for improvement in end-of-life care.