“Cheewabhibaln” derives from 2 words combined together, “Cheewa” which means life, and “Abhibaln” which means holistic care. Hence, “Cheewabhibaln” means caring for the life holistically. The objective of the center is to provide palliative care to patients living with serious illness, of which may be incurable. Palliative care can be incorporated into patient’s standard treatments at any point in the course of their illness, from diagnosis to the final stages. Our team is a team of consultants acting as an extra layer of support to patient, family and patient’s primary care providers. We work as a multidisciplinary team consisting of physicians, nurses, social workers, administrative staffs and volunteers.
We work closely with palliative care volunteer visitor network who can provide supportive presence and companionship to patients struggling with isolation and their illness. Cheewabhibaln Palliative Care Center emphasizes integrative and holistic approach in patient care that addresses the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs of patients and their families, helping them to live as well and fully as possible.
One of our vital missions is to provide palliative care education to the community, from the level of general public to healthcare providers. We routinely organize palliative care education courses, communication workshops and conduct research to broaden palliative care knowledge.
“Palliative care” is a specialized medical care for patients living with serious illness. This type of care aims at relieving the uncomfortable symptoms such as pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, nausea, vomiting and other physical symptoms. Palliative care also provides emotional and spiritual support to patients and families, and helps them make decisions and coordinate care. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family.
Palliative care is much needed in patients who are at the terminal stage of the illness, either at the end-of-life or when the treatment option is limited. Patient’s prognosis is usually shorter than 6 months to 1 year such as patients with advance stage cancer, advance chronic organ diseases (heart, lung, kidney, neuromuscular disease) and incurable infections. Palliative care is also suitable for patients who suffer acute life-threatening complications, for example, septic shock and acute myocardial infarction.
King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital is one of the largest tertiary care hospitals in Thailand, therefore the number of patients we serve has been increasing gradually each year. According to our data, Cheewabhibaln Palliative Care Center receives referral from other services approximately more than 1,000 patients annually.
Mission
To become a prototype patient care center that provide a good quality of life until the end of patients’ life. Assist patients’ family to accept and adjust to the loss.
Strategies
- Create a prototype for holistic palliative care by multidisciplinary teams for patients and their families. Produce academic and research works.
- Support, train and provide consultation to medical personnel in all fields of medicine to enable them to apply the basic principles of palliative care to patients and their families.
Achievements and prides of Cheewabhibaln Palliative Care Center
The achievement of Cheewabhibaln Palliative Care Center is categorized into three main topics : Academic achievement, Service achievement and Voluntary Network Achievement .
Academic achievement
- The specific research of the patient and the caregivers’ requirement on being informed about illness diagnosis was done and it resulted in the modified process of a proper delivering bad news to the patients.
- The joint cooperation in creating the curriculum of Palliative Care to the Consortium of Thai Medical Schools
- The academic meeting among group of international Professors and expertise physicians in Thailand for holistic knowledge exchange about Palliative care and End of life care.
Service achievement
- Successful creation of online application : “IPDADE 27 for database collecting of Cheewabhibaln Palliative Care Center Consult” for the 1st time in Thailand (Year 2012)
- The major role as the coordinator in providing patient and family centered care, in cooperation with the medical personnel from various departments, nursing department, Anesthesiology, Rehabilitation Medicine, Pharmacy, Family Medicine, Comfort Care Nursing Team, Home Health Care Unit, Social Workers, Red Cross Volunteers, Peaceful death Volunteers, and Cheewabhibaln Volunteers, etc.
Voluntary Network Achievement
- In 2006, the project of Voluntary Network for the terminally ill patients were arranged to the medical students and nursing students for chronic patients. The project aimed to provide knowledge about profound listening technics and the acknowledgement was well developed from the first starting year until the club was established and was managed by the volunteers themselves.
- Successful arrangement of training and academic conferences under cooperation with the Institute of Medicine of Thailand (NBTC). The 6 volumes of conference summary were successfully published to provide valuable information about terminally ill patient care. The positive result from such 6 volume publication brought into club establishment, and eventually Cheewabhibaln Palliative Care Center with the main objective to strengthen the volunteer network of service and Palliative Care development.
Services
- Give advice and in-patient care
- Patient’s Home follow up
- Out-patient care
- Acupuncture and alternative treatment
- Patient’s family follow up after death
- Training volunteers and follow up their work
- After hours care, answer question from telephone and LINE
- Medical Equipment Bank
