Submitted by: PeaceHealth
The PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center Foundation has initiated a fundraising campaign to bring outpatient palliative care to Whatcom County. The foundation has committed to raising $2.5 million to provide holistic and individualized care for people living with chronic or serious illness in our community, extending whole-person care beyond the walls of the hospital.
Palliative care focuses on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of a chronic or serious illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family through honoring each person’s unique psychological, social and spiritual needs.
“We recognize the great need for an outpatient palliative care program in Whatcom County,” said Anne Rasmussen, MBA, CFRE, chief development officer of the PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center Foundation. “This service ensures that patient goals align with provided healthcare services while advancing quality of care and patient safety. We firmly believe in this deeply meaningful and important work.”
The campaign has additional good news to share: A generous local family has initiated a $1.25M matching campaign. All donations will be matched on a 1:1 basis, doubling each donor’s impact.
Palliative care uses an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach. A patient’s care team may include a social worker, physician, nurse, chaplain and/or volunteer(s). Donna Inglis, member of the PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center Foundation Board of Directors and chair of the Outpatient Palliative Care Campaign, shared, “When people are faced with a challenging diagnosis, care can often feel fragmented and overwhelming. Our palliative care team fosters communication that addresses the many layers and unique goals of each individual. This coordination of care allows specialists to focus on treating the disease, and the palliative care team to focus on everything else, ensuring that extra layer of individualized support.”
Inglis added, “It’s about empowering patients to have the best quality of life possible—to live well, whatever their diagnosis or stage of illness may be.”
Those interested in learning more about the PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center Outpatient Palliative Care Campaign or donating to the cause can visit the campaign webpage or contact Rasmussen at 360-788-6853.
