including in-home nursing, nutri-
tion advice, help with social net-
works and family interaction, and
spiritual support. But unlike hos-
pice care, in-home palliative care
is not reimbursed by insurance.
JHCN never charges patients and
their families for services, so most
of the professionals who work for
LifeLinks are volunteers.
As medical director, Forman
oversees patient care and serves as
a resource to other staff. He edu-
cates community healthcare pro-
fessionals about JHCN/LifeLinks
and seeks grants and other modes
of funding. In November, he coor-
dinated a conference attended by
more than 200 physicians about
talking to patients about serious
illness.
Community doctors are increas-
ingly receptive to LifeLinks,
Krakoff said.
“LifeLinks extends physicians’
reach into a patient’s home,”
Forman said. “It takes a big burden
off them. And when patients don’t
have to make so many repeat visits
to the office, the doctor has more
time to spend with them when
they do come in.
“We’re not competing with the
physicians; we’re not trying to take
their patients away. We’re helping
to fill a gap.”
Forman describes LifeLinks as
“anti-entrepreneurial” because
under current insurance reimburse-
ment models, it doesn’t bring in any
income.
But Freedman and Krakoff hope
Forman’s medical credentials and
business savvy will help convince
funders that LifeLinks is a sound
financial model.
Forman recently secured a large
grant from the Michigan Health
Endowment Fund that includes a
rigorous data collection compo-
nent. LifeLinks is now measuring
the number of days its patients
spend in the hospital, the num-
ber of emergency room visits, the
number of days in intensive care
and the number of visits to the
doctor’s office.
For most patients, these mea-
sures decrease significantly once
they join the program, meaning
the cost to insurers would be
lower — if only insurers covered
LifeLink’s services.
Forman says he hopes his
research will convince the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services
that programs like LifeLinks add
value for the patient while reduc-
ing costs. If government payers
start reimbursing providers, private
insurers would likely follow suit.
He feels the field of in-home pal-
liative care is bound to grow and
to become as accepted as hospice
care.
At Magen David Adom,
we’re often saving lives before
our ambulances even arrive.
PATIENT PEACE OF MIND
For patients and their families, the
benefit of LifeLinks is not econom-
ic; it’s the tremendous increase in
comfort and reassurance they feel,
Forman said. Receiving more care
at home, along with social and
spiritual support, gives them peace
of mind.
Janet Levine of Huntington
Woods turned to LifeLinks
last spring when her husband,
Ellsworth, “Ells,” was struggling
with Parkinson’s disease and
depression.
As a longtime Jewish communal
volunteer, Levine was familiar with
Jewish Hospice and Chaplaincy
Network. The rabbis came to visit,
followed by social workers, who
explained the LifeLinks program,
and a nurse.
“They were just there for us.
They provided emotional and
spiritual support, which we really
needed,” she said. “It’s an invalu-
able part of our community.”
Forman has started explor-
ing ways LifeLinks can provide
increased support to family care-
givers of its patients. Caregivers
often neglect their own wellbe-
ing and hesitate to ask for help
for themselves. They are relived
when they learn that someone is
interested in them as well as in the
patient.
Recently, LifeLinks started add-
ing “enrichments” to the patient
experience. Musicians visit to play
and sing for them, through the late
Carole Jo Lasser Fund for Music
Enrichment. Beauticians style hair
and do manicures. Plans are afoot
for art and pet therapy and life
review activities.
LifeLinks is unique in the United
States, Freedman said. “There is
such a need, but not many hospi-
tals or physician groups are willing
to take on patients they don’t get
paid for.”
Because LifeLinks is not cov-
ered by insurance and patients are
never charged for any of the ser-
vices, the program relies on dona-
tions and grants.
While he misses his oncol-
ogy colleagues and his patients,
Forman is happy in his new career.
“It’s the most meaningful work I’ve
done in a long time,” he said. “It’s
been rejuvenating.” •
At Magen David Adom, Israel’s national EMS service, help
begins the moment the phone is answered. Because EMTs
handle the calls, they can provide lifesaving instructions while
dispatching ambulances and first-responders on Medicycles.
And now, with 15,000 CPR-certified civilian Life Guardians
joining our team, help can be just seconds away.
As we celebrate Chanukah, please give the gift of life,
and make your year-end tax-deductible donation today.
AFMDA Midwest Region
3175 Commercial Avenue, Suite 101
Northbrook, IL 60062
Toll-Free 888.674.4871 • midwest@afmda.org
www.afmda.org
jn
December 14 • 2017
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