Program aims to improve palliative care at veteran’s hospitals

The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded the City of Hope a three-year contract to educate nurses on how to provide better palliative care for Veterans with life-threatening illnesses.

According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, as the number of number of Vietnam-era veterans over 65 will grow through 2034, the need for hospice and palliative care at Veteran’s Hospitals will grow also. 

In the three years of the project, called ELNEC-For Veterans, 600 nurse educators will enroll in national “train-the-trainer” courses. The goal is to improve the quality of palliative care for thousands of veterans.

(Sources: American Association of Colleges of Nursing, http://www.aacn.nche.edu, June 30, 2010); AHA News Now, http://ahanews.com, July 2, 2010)