Coalition for Compassionate Care of California

Target demographics: promote high-quality, compassionate care for everyone who is seriously ill or nearing the end of life

Geographic areas served: California

Programs: Our activities include: Advance Care Planning: CCCC works with local coalitions throughout the state to engage the public in advance care planning, and with healthcare professionals to make conversations about the end of life a regular part of providing care. Our consulting service works with healthcare organizations to design effective and cost-efficient customized advance care planning solutions that result in a quality experience for patients, families and healthcare teams. Pediatric palliative care advocacy and education: We partner with state and community leaders to develop programs that meet the important day-to-day needs of kids and their families. We create opportunities for doctors, nurses, families and community leaders to talk together about the issues that matter most, and work together to create collaborative networks to ensure that when children go home from the hospital they and their families have access to the care they need to be safe and comfortable at home. The programs we create and policies we advocate for not only benefit children, but also the families who love and care for them. Public Policy: Changing the model for end-of-life care involves not only families and healthcare providers, but also public policymakers. We track legislation and educate policymakers on issues that increase access to palliative medicine and quality, compassionate care. Palliative Care: As the voice of palliative care in California, we incubate and disseminate models and ideas to improve access to quality care for all people. POLST California: CCCC is the home for POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) in California, and we work closely with more than 25 POLST coalitions in communities throughout the state to spread its use. As a result of this robust, grassroots collaborative approach, we have seen successful implementation of POLST statewide. Learn more at caPOLST.org. Education: CCCC leads efforts to train healthcare professionals on POLST and advance care planning, as well as on cultural congruency at the end of life. We help providers develop the skills they need to talk with seriously-ill patients and families facing decisions about goals of care at the end of life. Annual Palliative Care Summit: In 2016 we hosted our 8th annual palliative care summit. Each year this conference convenes hundreds of leaders including physicians, nurses, social workers, nursing home administrators, chaplains, policymakers and patients interested in clinical research, quality, and policy as it applies to palliative care. Resources: We have nearly 20 years of experience creating a range of educational materials for the public and for providers. These resources have undergone expert review to ensure accuracy and accessibility, and many materials are available in multiple languages.