VA selects sites for end-of-life care initiative

The Department of Veterans Affairs has selected six sites to participate in the VA's new end-of-life care initiative, called the "Interprofessional Fellowship Program in Palliative Care." The program seeks to change the way physicians, nurses, social workers and others provide care to patients in their final days. The six sites, announced yesterday, are the VA facilities located in: Bronx, NY; Los Angeles; Milwaukee; Palo Alto, CA; Portland, OR; and San Antonio. Palo Alto will serve as the hub facility, responsible for coordinating curriculum, program evaluation, education, outreach and recruitment strategies. Also yesterday, the VA announced the creation of three new Centers for Excellence. The centers, in Boston, New York and Miami, will research new therapies for people suffering from spinal cord injury and the development of artificial retinas to restore sight to the blind.