Adult Palliative Care

Palliative care is an extra layer of support for people living with serious illness and for their families. Palliative care focuses on providing symptom management and education as well as assisting in aligning the patient’s goals with their care plan, improving their quality of life and ensuring the best care possible.

This care can be provided at any stage in a patient’s illness and does not change their current care plan or replace their current care providers.

The biggest difference between palliative care and hospice care is that palliative care can be provided at any stage in an illness alongside curative care and/ or other treatments. Hospice care is more robust support that is reserved for patients when their care goals shift away from curative care and focus solely on comfort.

Hospice care is a benefit of Medicare and most insurance plans, and can provide physician, nurse practitioner, skilled nursing and chaplaincy in a patient’s home setting or wherever care is most appropriate.

Palliative care is a great option for patients experiencing the effects of a serious illness. Palliative care can provide physical, emotional and spiritual support for patients and their families as they move through the journey of their illness.

You may be a good candidate for palliative care if you are experiencing any of the following:

• Serious illness
• Chronic illness
• Unmanaged symptoms as a result of serious illness
• Frequent hospitalizations or emergency room visits
• Increasing difficulty visiting your physicians because of the burden of your illness

Palliative care is provided by a medical team includes a physician and a nurse practitioner. This team works with a patient’s current care team to provide relief of symptoms, education and to determine a patient’s goals and values that will shape the care that they get. The palliative care team helps navigate the health care system and communicates with a patient’s care team to help put the complicated pieces together for patients and their families.