Hospital Based Palliative Care Programs On the Rise

My local San Jose Business Journal recently reported a sharp rise in the number of hospital based palliative care programs in California. The Sacramento area had the highest percentage of hospitals with palliative care programs (67%) and Orange County had the lowest (32%). The report stated that "more than 90 percent of California’s 111 programs surveyed by the foundation were started since 2000, with 64 percent started since 2004."

I was a bit surprised when I read this in the San Jose Business Journal because I've long felt that hospitals in the San Jose area (Santa Clara County) could do a much better job with palliative care. Curiously, there was no mention of how Santa Clara County measured up compared to Sacramento and Orange County.

How does your state measure up? If you have statistics on hospital based palliative care programs in your state, please send them along!