Cambia Health Solutions Announces Industry’s Most Comprehensive Palliative Care Program

Portland, Oregon (PRWEB) June 11, 2014

Cambia Health Solutions is announcing a new palliative care program that takes a groundbreaking approach to serving individuals with serious illness and those who care for them. With the launch of the most comprehensive palliative care program in the nation, Cambia is taking action to create a person-focused system by putting the patient's goals at the center of an interdisciplinary care team that places quality of life as a top priority and includes the patient's family in the care plan. The new program will be available as early as this summer to the more than 2.2 million members of Cambia's family of health plan companies in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Utah.

"We're changing the conversation about serious illness care," said Mark Ganz, President and CEO of Cambia Health Solutions. "Our program puts our members and their families in charge of their health care, allowing people to live with dignity and a sense of control even when facing a serious illness. At Cambia Health Solutions, we believe that palliative care is deeply personal and fundamentally rooted in respect for a patient's wishes. Our investments in palliative care are not about a return on investment. This is about a return on humanity."

Cambia's program facilitates health care needs from wellness all the way through completion of life. New health care services, benefits, training and education have been created to ensure the entire team, including doctors, nurses, home health aides and others put the patient's physical, social and spiritual needs at the center of the care delivery plan. Among the unique aspects of the program is facilitation of discussion and planning for serious illness when patients are healthy, to assure their needs are honored at every step of their long-term health care plans and decisions.

This announcement is a natural progression for Cambia Health Solutions, as both the company and its philanthropic arm, Cambia Health Foundation, have heavily invested in programs, people and organizations that are changing the way patients experience palliative care. Since 2009, Cambia Health Foundation has invested more than $10 million in programs and initiatives to advance palliative care access, awareness and quality across the nation.

While the Cambia Health Foundation worked to elevate the nation's access to and awareness of palliative care, Cambia Health Solutions undertook an extensive review of more than 25 current palliative care programs across the country. Cambia's leadership discovered the need for a truly comprehensive, person-centric system that would serve individuals – from initial health care planning all the way through completion of life. The underpinning of this program is an environment where the needs of a patient – and their family – are honored first, and always, by their providers and the larger community.

"A serious-illness diagnosis impacts not only the patient, but their family and loved ones as well. Cambia's unique, holistic approach honors the patient through every step of their journey," said Dr. Richard Popiel, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Cambia Health Solutions. "This integrated approach includes support across the care continuum for medical providers, patients and their families. We want our members to feel supported in defining and achieving their ideal quality of life, whether it's at the point of a serious-illness diagnosis, the advanced-care planning phase, or simply choosing quality health care coverage for their families."

About Cambia Health Solutions
Cambia Health Solutions is a nonprofit total health solutions company based in the Pacific Northwest/Intermountain region, serving consumers and communities for nearly 100 years. Cambia companies provide a wide range of products and services, including health care information technology and software development, retail health care, health insurance, life insurance, pharmacy benefit management, consumer engagement and wellness. For more information, please visit cambiahealth.com.

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