News Release

LifeCourse meets Triple Aim for late life care

Model fulfills need for upstream palliative care

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Allina Health

MINNEAPOLIS - (April 17, 2017) - Analysis of 900 intervention and usual care patients shows LifeCourse participants have fewer costs and better experiences. LifeCourse is an Allina Health care model that supports people's medical and non-medical needs during the time between advanced illness diagnosis and end of life.

"After finding strong 'Triple Aim' results, including an eight-to-one return on investment and improvements in quality of life, our leaders were propelled to apply LifeCourse broadly," said Paige Bingham, LifeCourse director for Allina Health.

LifeCourse expanded from focusing on critically ill patients after discharge from Abbott Northwestern Hospital to Allina Health care management, the Givens Brain Tumor Center and Minneapolis Heart Institute®. Additionally, LifeCourse has been implemented at NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center to address late-life care disparities in an underserved community.

LifeCourse was created using national palliative care guidelines and feedback from patients, caregivers, and providers. Lay healthcare workers, called care guides, meet with patients monthly in their homes. They work to understand patients' goals and what matters most to them and connect them to medical and community-based resources.

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The study will be presented April 21 in Orlando, Fla. at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement 18th Annual Summit on Improving Patient Care in the Office Practice and the Community. The LifeCourse Research Study was performed by Allina Health and funded by the Robina Foundation.

About Allina Health

Allina Health is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of illness and enhancing the greater health of individuals, families and communities throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin. A not-for-profit health care system, Allina Health cares for patients from beginning to end-of-life through its 90+ clinics, 12 hospitals, 15 retail pharmacies, specialty care centers and specialty medical services, home care, senior transitions, hospice care, home oxygen and medical equipment and emergency medical transportation services.

For more information, visit us at allinahealth.org, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Healthy Set Go.


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