PALLIATIVE CARE

What is a palliative care?

Palliative care is based on the needs of the patient, not on the patient’s prognosis. It is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness, and it can be provided along with curative treatment.

Serious illnesses may include cancer, heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease, Alzheimer’s, ALS, Parkinson’s and more.

Our palliative care team is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness.

• Provides an interdisciplinary team of clinicians (Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, Social Workers and/or Spiritual Care Providers) who are focused on providing care that is most important to the patient and their family/caregivers
• Holistic approach that focuses on the physical, social, psychological, and spiritual aspects of a serious illness
• Experts in the management of pain and complex symptoms such as shortness of breath, nausea, constipation, etc.
• Extra layer of support to ensure patients are receiving the best possible care and outcomes
• Helps match treatment options to the patient’s goals and reduces the conflict and stress of making difficult medical decisions
• Communicates and provides coordination of care with the patient’s other doctors or specialist
• Helps patients stay out of the hospital when it is not necessary to be there
• Helps patients and their family cope, develop plans and seek resources that provide tools to remain home, even as the illness changes
• Provides optimal support and resources to the caregivers to eliminate caregiver fatigue and break down