What is Palliative Care?
Palliative Care is specialized medical care designed to relieve the symptoms and pressure caused by serious or chronic illness. This patient and family-centered care is suitable for any age or disease stage, with the aim of achieving the best possible quality of life for both the patient and their loved ones. If your family member is struggling with the symptoms of a disease, ask their physician for a palliative care consultation.
What Does a Palliative Doctor Do?
A doctor specializing and certified in palliative medicine provides care as your loved one who is facing the many challenges of living with a serious illness. While other doctors focus on the patient's general health or treating the disease or condition, palliative doctors concentrate on preventing and alleviating suffering and maintaining your caregiver's quality of life.
Providing Care and Support
The elements of palliative care require regular, open communication among you, your loved ones, and your doctors. The ultimate goal is to ensure that you and your loved ones know what care and support are available to you and to help you get it as you live with a difficult illness.
Team Approach
To best meet your needs, palliative care uses a team approach. The specially- trained team, headed by the palliative doctor, may include nurses, social workers, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other medical and nonmedical professionals and volunteers who provide an extra layer of support.
Where to get Palliative Care and how to find a team
Palliative care can also be arranged to be received at a nursing home, assisted living facility, or at your home. Find the right palliative care team for your loved one by searching the provider directory on the Get Palliative Care website where you can search by hospital, nursing home, office/clinic or home. If palliative care is the right fit for your loved one, be sure to review financial options for care.
Check these real-life patient stories of people with serious illness who have benefited from palliative care.
