Transitions LifeCare (formerly known as Hospice of Wake County), in Raleigh, North Carolina, is a hospice and palliative care organization specializing in caring for patients who are navigating the challenges presented by serious illnesses. In addition to serving the patients, Transitions LifeCare serves the families and caregivers of these patients. Patients and their families served at Transitions LifeCare are from eight counties including Durham, Franklin, Harnett, Johnston, Orange, and Wake counties, with limited services in Chatham and Granville counties. They serve people from all walks of life and socioeconomic statuses. Noone is turned away from our hospice services due to inability to pay.

The CCME foundation provided a $50,000 grant to expand Transitions Lifecare’s capacity in serving the Hispanic community through its program, Alianza de Cuidado y Apoyo: Supporting the Hispanic Community to Navigate Serious Illness. The Hispanic community within North Carolina is generally underserved in the areas of palliative and hospice care, and barriers such as a lack of health insurance, language and cultural traditions, health literacy and educational levels, and a distrust of the medical system contribute to negative health outcomes within the population. The program intends to reach more than 5,000 people. Transitions LifeCare staff began working with the Community Health Workers at El Centro Hispano and using El Centro’s current programming and networks in the Triangle area to develop tools, resources, and expand its mutual knowledge base about how to provide the best care for Hispanic population regarding serious illness and end of life care.

The key to reaching the Hispanic community has been through relationship building, which ultimately builds trust and collaboration. Alianza de Cuidado y Apoyo Project Director, Betsy Barton, added that one way in which Transitions LifeCare displayed its commitment was by simply “showing up” at the Frida Kahlo Awards, honoring LGBTQIA+ within the Latinx community and sponsored by El Centro. They include the El Centro outreach workers when holding educational events and trainings on the Transitions LifeCare campus to further the knowledge base and outreach efforts and participate in Spanish-speaking events held by the El Centro community workers featuring the tools developed through the project collaboration. Ms. Barton stated, “It was a delight to see them using the tools we shared and making them their own.”

Just some of these tools include the card game Go Wish, the Five Wishes form (which helps individuals address their own end of life wishes); the Hello (Hola) game (which helps players explore their life choices and end of life wishes in a less intimidating way), and a fact sheet that assists patients in communicating with their doctors after being diagnosed with a serious illness. All tools are developed collaboratively and provided in Spanish.

The staff at Transitions LifeCare has been using the grant to expand its capacity within the Hispanic community but also in adapting to additional needs and requests as they come up. There is an interest in learning more about dementia care and supporting these caregivers within the community. Other collaborations have evolved, such as Transitions LifeCare’s intake forms, handbooks, and other documents being translated into Spanish as well as staff training on how to work with an interpreter within a clinical setting.

To learn more about the work of Transitions LifeCare, visit www.transitionslifecare.org.