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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- If the United States were graded on its ability to care for the sick, it would barely pass.
In a new report on the nations palliative care services -- programs that alleviate pain in patients with serious and chronic illnesses and provide counseling -- the countrys caregivers averaged a C.
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At the top of the class are Vermont, Montana and New Hampshire -- the only states to receive As. Wearing the dunce caps are Oklahoma, Alabama and Mississippi, all of which brought home Fs.
The good news is that hospitals nationwide have implemented palliative care programs quickly over the last six years, R. Sean Morrison, M.D., director of the non-profit National Palliative Care Research Center and senior author of the study, was quoted as saying. The bad news is that if you live in the South or you have to rely on public or small community hospitals, youre in trouble.
Study authors say in states with more palliative care programs, patients are less likely to die or be forced to go to the intensive care unit as much in the final six months of life.
SOURCE: Journal of Palliative Medicine, 2008; Americas Care of Serious Illness: A State-by-State Report Card on Access to Palliative Care in Our Nations Hospitals
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