Community and Partners

7 out of 10 Americans will die from serious illness with an end of life period that can be drawn out over years, not just weeks or months. Too often, serious illness care is fragmented and doesn’t support our nonmedical needs. Limited resources and pressure to reduce healthcare spending will require us to focus on the care that matters most to individuals.

LifeCourse, founded in 2012, set out to address the upstream challenges people face when reaching the late stages of serious illness. Through funding from the Robina Foundation, a private grant making foundation that aims to positively impact critical social issues, LifeCourse began as a research study. Between 2012 and 2016, over 1,750 participants were enrolled, including intervention patients, comparison patients, as well as key friends and family members.

Research showed that LifeCourse patients were better able to maintain quality of life and had better care experiences than patients receiving usual care. LifeCourse patients also utilized hospice and palliative care services more than patients receiving usual care.

Allina Health, through a Robina Foundation grant, is collaborating with clinics and community organizations to serve individuals with serious illness, learn together, measure progress towards stated goals and outcomes, and share findings with others.