Palliative Supportive Care

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with a chronic or terminal illness, you will appreciate the support that our Palliative (pal-lee-uh-tiv) and Supportive Care Team professionals offer. At St. Joseph Health, we are dedicated to helping align your medical treatment with your physical, social and spiritual needs.  

Our palliative care professionals work in conjunction with curative treatments, therapies and hospice options, and care can take place in your home or in a long term care facility. The goal of St. Joseph Health Palliative Care is to achieve the best quality of life possible by relieving suffering and controlling pain and other symptoms. 

Board certified palliative care teams – improving quality of life during serious illness.

When facing a chronic or terminal illness diagnosis, there are a number of decisions that have to be made … Is it best to stay at home, or to go to a long term care facility? What treatments and therapies are best? Regardless of what you decide, our team is here to help coordinate a plan of care based on your wishes.

The St. Joseph Health Palliative Care team includes board certified physicians, advanced practice nurses, therapists, social workers, chaplains and others who are all ready to provide an all-inclusive treatment to any anxiety, pain, discomfort or stress associated with a long term or terminal illness. Our professionals are compassionate and caring, and they know how to provide the care and understanding you and your family need.

Benefits of Palliative Care

By treating each patient and family as a unit, we are better able to manage physical, emotional and spiritual needs. This approach helps us maximize quality of life and assist patients and families in achieving their goals. Your Palliative and Supportive Care Team will listen to your hopes, wishes, values and goals of care for you and your family. This may include talking about:

• Current symptoms and treatments
• Decisions about life-sustaining measures
• Plans for a changing condition
• Arrangements for post-hospital care
• Ensuring that care is in line with patients' wishes while meeting their emotional and spiritual needs.
• A flexible plan for reducing pain and other distressing symptoms, such as nausea or shortness of breath
• A communication plan for healthcare providers and family members
• Emotional support 

When to consider palliative care.

Many adults and children living with illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, lung disease and kidney failure, among others, experience physical symptoms and emotional distress related to their diseases. Sometimes these symptoms are related to the medical treatments they are receiving. You may want to consider palliative care if you or your loved one:

• Suffers from pain or other symptoms due to any serious illness
• Experiences physical or emotional pain that is not under control
• Needs help understanding the situation and coordinating care

Palliative care is offered and provided through the continuum of a chronic and/or terminal illness addressing physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs to prevent and treat suffering while giving the patient a choice.

How palliative care is different from hospice care.

Hospice care focuses on a person's final months of life, while palliative care is available at any time during an illness. A patient can receive palliative care while going through treatments that are meant to cure an illness. Its availability does not depend upon whether or not the person's condition can be cured.

If you’re facing a chronic or terminal diagnosis, get in touch with us today. Rest assured that we’re devoted to providing palliative care that optimizes the quality of life for our patients and offers support and guidance to family and friends. Call us at 979-776-2470.