Salisbury, MD — Coastal Hospice, in collaboration with the American Lung Association (ALA) and the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) today announces the Advanced Lung Care Program to improve care quality and access to hospice and palliative/advanced illness care. The program will provide specialized care for patients experiencing severe symptoms from chronic lung disease, which includes COPD, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, asthma, cystic fibrosis, bronchiectasis, pulmonary fibrosis, sarcoidosis, and pulmonary hypertension.
Chronic lung disease is a tremendous burden for the 34 million Americans who live with the disease as well as their families and caregivers. In 2016, there were more than 2 million emergency department visits and more than 650,000 hospitalizations due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is one of the most prevalent chronic lung diseases. COPD also costs the healthcare system more than $50 billion a year – mostly due to ER visits and hospitalizations.
Dr. Stacy Cottingham, Special Programs Access Liaison RN and head of the Coastal Hospice Advanced Lung Care Program was proud to share, “Coastal Hospice designed our local program to help patients who are tired of being in and out of hospital emergency departments for their chronic lung disease. By wrapping the patient and caregiver with education and other health resources, we can give them the peace of mind that they don’t have to leave home but have a specialized team come to them to help manage symptoms.”
The Advanced Lung Care Program will launch on Monday, January 22nd. To learn more about our program and for copies of the Patient and Caregiver Handbook, you may download them here. Individuals can request a printed copy by calling 410-742-7878 or ask your provider about contacting Coastal Hospice.
