Complementary care center serves cancer patients
August 1, 2000
Complementary care center serves cancer patients
The name says it all: Place of Wellness
The motivation to open a complementary care center at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Care Center in Houston was inspired by the enthusiastic response to the complementary care sessions at the annual conference of the Anderson Network, a patient support program. "We couldn’t get rooms large enough to hold all the people who wanted to attend, so we decided that we should try to offer this on a daily basis," says Judy Gerner, LPT, the director of Place of Wellness at MD Anderson.
The proposal for the complementary care center was submitted to the administration in 1996. At that time, Gerner was asked to get a medical director involved and submit a formal proposal. She did, and together they garnered the support of the administration and medical staff.
A site was granted in January 1998, and the facility opened in the fall of that year. It is a freestanding building on the MD Anderson campus. The location was important because the plan was to use staff as facilitators, yet cancer patients don’t want to go into the medical facility any more than they have to, explains Gerner.
Currently, all services are offered on an outpatient basis and focus on the healing ability of the mind, body, and spirit. Their purpose is to enhance people’s quality of life and complement medical care. While the curriculum varies, an average of 80 different programs are offered each month.
"Our program focuses more on emotions, expressive behavior, and spiritual growth," says Gerner. Classes are offered in nutrition, art therapy, writing, Tibetan meditation, guided imagery, relaxation, aromatherapy, self-hypnosis, yoga, and Tai Chi. There’s a program called "Healing Stories" and another called "Creative Memories" in which a facilitator encourages people to write down thoughts. These exercises are especially meaningful for those who are expecting that their life might be shortened by illness.
Education key component
Place of Wellness offers educational sessions on all types of complementary therapies, even those they do not offer or support. For example, the center does not offer true healing touch or macrobiotic diets, but it does offer lectures on these topics. "Our educational focus is really on informed choices," explains Gerner. The center does not offer any invasive therapies, such as acupuncture.
This summer, Place of Wellness offered the first weekend program, which targeted a specific audience: single patients ages 25 to 45 who are living through cancer. The daylong program was a time for networking, dealing with issues, and being nurtured.
Place of Wellness is open to anyone going through the cancer experience, including family members and friends of cancer patients. All services are free, but some people are referred to other services within the system that cost money. For example, a patient might request an individual consultation with a nutritionist or an appointment at the acupuncture clinic. "We find out what the patients need, and if we can’t meet their need, we will get them in touch with the people at Anderson who can," says Gerner.
Those who facilitate groups at Place of Wellness are usually employees at MD Anderson, and all volunteer their time. Gerner hopes to get funding for honoraria soon. In spite of the fact that facilitators aren’t paid, criteria for teaching are stringent. Social work often conducts the support groups, nutrition staff teach nutrition, and psychology provides instruction on guided imagery. All topics fit within each teacher’s job description, says Gerner.
"If a class falls outside the job description for which they were hired at MD Anderson, they must be licensed and credentialed in that area," she explains. Those outside the medical center, such as Tai Chi instructors, must have the highest licensing and credentialing they can obtain within their discipline. If there are no strict licensing requirements for the discipline, Gerner examines the person’s experience and where the person has worked. She also interviews people who have worked with the practitioner.
Although 11,000 people are expected to use Place of Wellness this year, it is still important to promote the center’s services. To do so, Gerner attends staff meetings to provide brief inservices on the complementary care facility. She also periodically opens the center to staff so they can try the different therapies. She also floods the market with calendars of the class schedule that include a brief description of each class on the back of the flyer.
When the center was being organized, Gerner established a steering committee that included the heads of those departments that had services that might overlap. This includes social work, patient education, and rehabilitation services. "The steering committee has helped to guide the process of how we structure our center and the types of programs we bring," says Gerner.
There are many benefits to complementary therapy. It shows that an institution understands the emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs of patients, and allows people to get some control back in their lives. It also helps patients understand the difference between healing and curing. While they may not be cured, they can be healed, explains Gerner. "People come to understand that there are steps they can take that enhance their quality of life or even give them back a quality of life in a new dimension or more enhanced dimension," she says.
For more information about Place of Wellness, contact:
• Judy Gerner, LPT, Director, Place of Wellness, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe, Box 216, Houston, TX 77030. Telephone: (713) 792-8574. Fax: (713) 745-3762. E-mail: jgerner@ notes.mdacc.tmc.edu.
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