Palliative care is designed to relieve suffering and to provide the best possible quality of life for people facing the pain, symptoms, and stresses of serious illness. Although research shows that patients benefit from palliative care earlier in the course of serious illness, it is not always accessible to them. Among the factors affecting access is the shortage of professionals trained to deliver palliative care.

CHCF supports the California State University Institute for Palliative Care, founded in 2012 as America’s first statewide educational and workforce development initiative focused on offering health care professionals training in high-quality palliative care.

More health care professionals receive training from the California State University (CSU) system than any other program in California, and therefore the institute is integral to incorporating palliative care curriculum into the training of future nurses, social workers, public health, and other allied professions (such as home health aides). Located on the CSU San Marcos campus, the institute also offers professional development and continuing education courses to enhance the skills of current health care professionals.

In the video below, Tammy Rogers, MSW, LCSW, talks about why she chose the institute to develop her palliative care skills.