Lakeland Regional Health Selected to Participate In National End-of-Life Research Project

Lakeland, FL – Lakeland Regional Health is pleased to share it has been selected by the Hospice Foundation of America (HFA) as part of an innovative nationwide project to better understand advance care planning. As one of the research sites, Lakeland Regional Health will serve as host of a community-wide game that will allow information to be gathered on difficult end-of-life conversations.

Lakeland Regional Health is one of only 15 organizations across the country chosen to participate in research activities for the 14-month collaborative project between HFA and Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

“The topic of advance care planning can be difficult, but it is an important one to discuss,” said Jeri Thomas, MSN, CNS, ACHPN, CMSRN, Lakeland Regional Health Clinical Nurse Specialist for Palliative Care. “This game will make it easy to bring people together for a stimulating discussion about living well and end-of-life wishes. It’s a great first step, and we are hopeful the conversation will continue from there.”

The conversation game, Hello, by Common Practice is the foundation for the event. The Lakeland game is scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, September 29, 2018. The activity is facilitated by Lakeland Regional Health leaders in community health, chaplaincy and palliative care. Approximately 50 members of the community have been invited to take part in the event.

The project aims to engage underserved populations in substantive, enjoyable and meaningful end-of-life discussions. Underserved is defined as individuals who face barriers to healthcare because of socioeconomic, geographic, linguistic, cultural or educational circumstances.

Game questions include “What music do you want to be listening to on your last day alive?,” “Who haven’t you talked to in more than six months that you would want to talk with before you died?” and “Who would you NEVER ask to assist you in using the bathroom?”

According to Common Practice, multiple published studies shows that 75% of people go on to take an advance care planning action after playing the game.

Research sites like Lakeland Regional Health will host a focus group following the game activity to assess the game’s effectiveness and participants’ readiness to engage in further care planning.

About Lakeland Regional Health

Not-for-profit Lakeland Regional Health reaches beyond its hospital walls to promote wellness, education and discovery in new places and new ways, providing a wide range of inpatient and outpatient healthcare services at its Medical Center, Hollis Cancer Center and ambulatory care locations. Lakeland Regional Health earned Most Wired Advanced and Most Wired status four times since 2013 from the American Hospital Association and has earned workplace awards from Forbes, Gallup and Becker’s Hospital Review. Its 849-bed comprehensive tertiary referral hospital, Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center, operates a Level II Trauma Center, the Carol Jenkins Barnett Pavilion for Women and Children, and the Bannasch Institute for Advanced Rehabilitation.

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