Global Palliative Care Heroes
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Recognizing the Heroes Among Us
Palliative care providers can often be the unsung heroes of healthcare, in part because palliative care is a small field. Its goal is to improve the quality of life for the patient and the family by providing physical, emotional, psychosocial and spiritual support to those with a life-limiting condition. Patients can be any age and at any stage of their illness – the primary goal is to help them live as fully and as comfortably as possible while managing their serious condition.
During a pandemic, palliative care is not only an essential service, but is also another layer of support for patients and families as they navigate the challenges their serious illness presents and the restrictions imposed during the pandemic.
Our “Palliative Care Heroes” campaign recognized and celebrated the contributions that palliative care workers make to improve the quality of living (and dying), particularly their tremendous, tireless work during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have continued to show up for their patients and their colleagues with a superhero attitude and superhuman effort! The goal of this campaign was to simply say, ‘thank you’ to the estimated 400,000 healthcare workers and 1.2 million volunteers delivering palliative care globally.
Aligning with the World Health Organization’s designation of 2021 as the ‘Year of the Health and Care Workers,’ our focus was on palliative care health workers. Our goal was to amplify the message of gratitude for these often-unsung palliative care heroes.
We invite you to continue to honor the incredible efforts of palliative care workers across the globe and the unique contribution they bring to caring for patients and families, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thank your local health and care workers
Health and care workers are on the COVID-19 frontline. Take a moment to thank them and show them your appreciation. Share photos and videos of and from health and care workers, and patients explaining why their work is vital. Use #SupportHealthCareWorkers and #COVID19.