PCNOW celebrates 3,000 members

West Allis–The Palliative Care Network of Wisconsin, formed in 2015 to support the growth of palliative care services in Wisconsin through education, systems change, and advocacy, has gained its 3000th member as its influence spreads nationally and internationally.

“We’re a scrappy organization without much of a budget. But we’ve found that the need for connection and education in the field is so strong, we can make a huge difference just by ‘connecting the islands,’” said Marla Wachtl, Secretary of PCNOW’s Board of Directors.

Palliative Care (pronounced pal-lee-uh-tiv) is specialized medical care for people with serious illnesses. It focuses on providing patients with relief from the symptoms, pain, and stress of a serious illness—whatever the diagnosis. Its goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family.

“There are so many patients struggling with serious illness, and their numbers will only grow as the population ages,” said Board Chair Tim Jessick, DO. “Palliative medicine helps those patients and families make difficult medical decisions and ensure that the treatments provided match those preferences.”

“We want to be a resource for clinicians, policymakers, the media and anyone who needs help understanding this rapidly growing field,” said PCNOW member John Maycroft.

PCNOW is also the home of Fast Facts, a nationally recognized program of palliative care education materials, and of a series of guidebooks and modules to help bring specialty and generalist palliative care to different care settings.

Membership in PCNOW is free. Visit www.mypcnow.org for more information about palliative care and PCNOW.