ST. GEORGE, Utah – The Regence Foundation recently awarded $17,200 to Dixie Regional Medical Center to develop a hospital-based palliative care program. Palliative care is a medical specialty geared toward helping seriously ill patients find relief from the symptoms of their disease.
 
“Most people associate palliative care with hospice, but palliative care extends well beyond hospice to anyone who needs help managing the pain and symptoms of a serious disease,” said Scott Ideson, President of Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah. “Hospitals are a critical resource for patients who need help with symptom management, and ensuring palliative care is available to patients earlier in the disease process is a priority for The Regence Foundation. We’d like to recognize Dixie Regional Medical Center for their work in this important area, and for making this a priority in the community.”
 
The Foundation grant to Dixie Regional Medical Center will help the hospital plan and develop its palliative care program. In addition, DRMC staff have already attended a Palliative Care Leadership Center (PCLC) training in Portland, Ore. PCLC is a national training and mentoring initiative to help hospitals start and expand high-quality palliative care programs.
 
“This grant gives us the opportunity to meet with national palliative care experts, collaborate with other hospitals and develop the most effective and thoughtful palliative care program we can,” said Craig Skousen, Dixie Regional Medical Center director of case management. “If successful, Dixie Regional Medical Center’s palliative care program can serve as a model for the entire state.” 
 
The grant is part of The Regence Foundation’s Sojourns grantmaking program to promote hospital and community based palliative care services. Through Sojourns, The Foundation aims to foster best practices, leadership and collaboration that help people with life-threatening and incurable illness to access quality palliative care in their own community.
 
About The Regence Foundation
The Regence Foundation is a corporate foundation of Regence, the largest health insurer in the Northwest/Intermountain region and a nonprofit independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. A 501(c)3 grantmaking organization, the Foundation partners with organizations driving significant change in health care delivery and accessibility in Utah, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Through its Sojourns program, the Foundation also supports organizations advancing quality palliative and end-of-life care. For more information, visit www.RegenceFoundation.org or www.twitter.com/RegenceGives.