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A RETURN TO THE HOUSE CALL: KLUGE GIFT TO SUPPORT HOME HEALTH CARE

A new challenge gift from philanthropist John W. Kluge will help the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine promote the value of in-home care, especially for elderly patients or patients in the late stages of a terminal illness.

The $500,000 commitment, which must be matched by $1.5 million from other donors, will create a professorship in palliative care. Palliative care includes health practices designed to relieve pain or discomfort in patients who suffer from conditions with no known cures. The endowed chair will support faculty who are exploring new ways to enhance patient comfort and quality of life, including a return to the traditional house call.

“We are extremely grateful to John Kluge for his continuing generosity and for his vision,” said Dr. Arthur Garson, Jr., vice president and dean of the School of Medicine.  “We must find more sensitive ways to treat patients who are nearing the end of their lives or for whom leaving their homes poses emotional or physical distress.  The palliative care professorship and the unique way in which it allows us to continue an important community service will have a marked impact on our ability to become a model for superior health care.”

In addition to providing greater comfort and convenience for patients, in-home visits also can help doctors gain an immediate grasp of a patient’s particular needs and circumstances, said Dr. Daniel Becker, professor of internal medicine and health evaluation sciences at U.Va.

“If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a home visit is worth a year of encounters at the clinic or hospital,” Becker said. “From seeing the home, meeting the family and caregivers, understanding the limitations imposed by illness, and discovering what the patient and family are willing to endure, we learn how to offer compassionate and technically expert care.” 

For nearly 10 years, Becker has been visiting patients in their homes on a weekly basis, bringing nursing students, medical students and medical residents with him on his calls. His most grateful patients are those he has cared for at home, he said, and his most grateful students are those who have accompanied him on these visits.

The renewed interest in house calls is part of a growing emphasis in the U.Va. Health System on holistic approaches to wellness and care. Another example is the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program, which has received ongoing support from John Kluge, and his wife, Tussi. Through yoga, meditation, relaxation exercises and the practice of mindfulness (focusing on our inner experience the moment it is happening), the program helps participants to overcome the debilitating effects of stress and to improve the quality of their lives.

"I am excited about the renewed emphasis at the University of Virginia on palliative care and the incorporation of holistic care into traditional health services,” Kluge said.  “My wife Tussi and I believe strongly in the importance of a compassionate and mindful relationship between doctor and patient.  We are pleased to be able to support this initiative at the U.Va. Health System."

February 6, 2004