The Tri-Central Palliative Care Program Toolkit

The TriCentral Palliative Care Program toolkit presents a wide range of educational, technical assistance and other support materials that address every aspect of program development. Based on the materials used in the TCPC Program, the toolkit provides a blueprint for the program, as well as guidelines for modifying it to fit a particular organization's structure and meet the needs of patients in the local community.

The toolkit is targeted toward health and social service providers, including physicians, nurses, social workers and allied health professionals, who want to establish within their health care organization an outpatient palliative care program based on the TCPC Program. Additionally, it provides helpful information to health care administrators who must provide budget approval for the new palliative care programs and to the health and social service professionals who will refer patients to the programs.

The toolkit also serves as a reference manual for local, state and national end-of-life care associations, for researchers and academics, and for foundations that support efforts to improve end-of-life care. Finally, the toolkit addresses patients through the marketing materials it includes. Program administrators can use these materials, in full or part, to inform patients about the palliative care program's availability and special features.