Palliative care is a physician-led interdisciplinary team approach to providing relief of suffering for patients with advanced illness through pain and symptom management. The goal is to provide comfort and maintain the highest possible quality of life for as long as possible.
Across our health system, our palliative care teams work to make a difference in the lives of patients and their loved ones facing serious, progressive or life-threatening illness by decreasing physical, emotional, spiritual and psychosocial suffering and increasing quality of life.
Being hospitalized with a serious progressive illness can often be difficult and confusing. You and your family may have questions about your illness and the choices you must make.
Our palliative care team will work with your physician to meet your physical, emotional and spiritual needs. We are committed to providing excellent palliative care to you – whether you have just been diagnosed, are in active treatment, have completed therapy or are facing end-of-life concerns.
Find information about palliative care from the Catholic Healthcare Association as well as grief resources for families.
Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with serious illness or injury. This type of care is focused on providing patients with relief from the symptoms, pain and stress of a serious illness – whatever the diagnosis. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family. Palliative care is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness, and can be provided together with curative treatment.
Pain Management and Symptom Relief
Together with our patient’s other doctors and caregivers, our team works to provide relief for pain and other symptoms such as nausea, shortness of breath, anxiety, depression, insomnia and cough.
Enhanced Emotional and Spiritual Support
We understand the challenges and stress to patients and their family members when faced with a serious illness. Our team provides assistance and counseling to everyone involved in order to reduce stress and anxiety.
Coordination of Care
Our team conducts a thorough evaluation of our patient’s needs and communicates with the patient’s other doctors to address the medication and therapeutic interventions required to improve the patient’s experience.
Patient Advocacy
We realize that a serious illness can overwhelm patients and their families. After patient and family evaluation, our team will communicate with the primary medical team to coordinate the best care possible. We will also help patients and families understand their care and treatment options so that they can make informed decisions based on their individual values and goals.
End-of-Life Issues
Should this time arrive during our care, we are here to provide assistance that will ensure continued comfort on all levels — physical, emotional and spiritual — for our patient as well as their family.
Palliative care is provided by an interdisciplinary team of doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, case managers, respiratory therapists, dietitians, and physical, occupational and speech therapists, who work with a patient’s other doctors to provide an extra layer of support.
Chaplains who are experienced in providing aggressive symptom relief and family support are also part of the palliative care team.
Based on the patient's evaluation, the primary care physician may request a palliative care consultation with a physician who is specially trained in palliative care.
We always work in conjunction with our patient’s physicians, nurses and other caregivers to ensure the best care possible.
Palliative care benefits any patient with symptoms that are difficult to control such as nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath and pain, and any patient for whom quality of life can be improved.
Examples of illnesses in patients who can benefit from palliative care include:
Palliative care is best introduced in the early stages of illness and can be provided even at the same time as curative treatments. However, the palliative care team can become involved at any stage of an illness. You and your physician will decide when palliative care is right for you.
A patient's physician, a patient, a family member, another caregiver or healthcare professional can request a palliative care evaluation. The admitting physician/primary doctor is notified of the request for a palliative care evaluation. A physician’s order is necessary for a physician consultation.
No. Although all hospice care is palliative care, not all palliative care is hospice care. Hospice care is available for those patients with limited life expectancy, while palliative care is appropriate for any stage of a serious illness. Palliative care patients may choose to transition to a hospice program at a later date as appropriate.
Palliative care is an important part of the services we provide for patients with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), along with neurology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, respiratory therapy, speech therapy, pulmonology and nutritional support.