Serious illnesses require more than just care, they require comfort, too. Palliative care is provided to people living with serious illnesses, to relieve pain and other symptoms and to improve comfort and quality of life.
Palliative care consists of symptom treatment, emotional support and spiritual support, which help ease the physical and emotional pain and suffering caused by a serious illness.
The Supportive Hospice Care palliative care program focuses on relieving the patient’s pain and symptoms through medications and integrated therapies that nurture your body as well as your soul.
If you are living with a chronic condition or have been diagnosed with a serious illness that has not yet reached an advanced stage, our palliative teams may help you find the comfort you need to carry on with your daily life. The Supportive Hospice Care palliative care services are available to family and caregivers as well.
What Is Palliative Care?
Palliative care is a specialized treatment option that offers advanced pain and symptom management to patients with chronic, progressive illness – such as, heart disease, lung disease, advanced dementia or cancer, regardless of their prognosis.
Hospice care is meant for people in the final months of life. Non-hospice palliative care, on the other hand, is available at any time during a patient’s illness. Unlike hospice, you can also receive palliative care at the same time as you’re receiving treatments to cure you.
The goal of palliative care is to improve the quality of a patient’s life.
Our team of specialists includes a large number of Board-Certified hospice and palliative care physicians and nurses in the state. Their education and expertise make them uniquely qualified to help patients with chronic illness to achieve comfort and maintain the highest possible quality of life.
You Can Begin Palliative Care Early
Palliative care can occur at the same time as all other treatments for your illness. It does not depend upon your prognosis so there is no reason you need to wait for services to begin. Pain and other symptoms affect your quality of life, and the stress associated with them can have a big impact on your family. The palliative care team can help.
What Palliative Care Services Do We Provide?
Our specialists are available to help patients in the home and in the hospital and nursing home residents who have advanced chronic illness, and their loved ones by:
- Helping families set clear goals for treatment and supporting them through difficult medical decisions.
- Evaluating a patient’s pain and other symptoms and making treatment recommendations specific to their situation.
- Identifying additional support services in the community.
- Enhancing coordination of care and communication among doctors, nurses, counselors and other healthcare providers.
The Palliative Care team takes into account the unique needs of the patient and can offer recommendations for managing symptoms. This may include pain, fatigue, constipation, anxiety, nausea, vomiting, restlessness, incontinence, and confusion, lack of appetite, dry mouth, and skin problems, among others. In addition to drug therapies, non-pharmacological solutions are suggested that may help comfort patients and relieve stress. They can include Reiki, massage, music and pet therapy.
Palliative Care Makes All The Difference
The Supportive Hospice Care team includes physicians, nurses, social workers and spiritual counselors. Together with your own doctor, they make sure you receive:
- Expert treatment of your pain and symptoms
- Close communication about your illness and treatment choices
- Coordination of your care among all of your healthcare providers
- Emotional support for you and your family
- Referral and coordination of home care and hospice services
- 24-hour support
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