Palliative Care at Midland Memorial Hospital is an important service provided to patients with serious illness. The aim is to improve quality of life by controlling symptoms and stress.
What Is Palliative Care?
Palliative care is comprehensive treatment of the discomfort, symptoms and stress of serious illness. It does not replace your primary treatment; Palliative Care works together with the primary treatment you're receiving. The goal is to prevent and ease suffering and improve your quality of life.
What are the Core Principles of Palliative Care?
- Improving Quality of Life: Focuses on enchasing well-being during serious illnesses.
- Extra Layer of Support: Provides additional assistance beyond curative treatment
- Team-Centric Approach: Involves a specialize team to cater to various aspects of care.
How Does It Differ From Hospice Care?
Palliative care differs from Hospice care in that Palliative Care can be provided at any time during the illness and for as long as the patient needs this care. Hospice care is usually provided when the patient's life expectancy is limited to months and the patient is not seeking aggressive treatment for their illness.
What Can I Expect From Palliative Care?
Palliative Care also provides support for you and your family and can improve communication between you and your health care providers. Palliative Care strives to provide you with:
- Expert treatment of pain and other symptoms so you can get the best relief possible.
- Open discussion about your disease and treatment choices, including treatment of your disease and management of your symptoms.
- Coordination of your care with all of your health care providers.
- Emotional and spiritual support for you and your family.
- Assistance with discharge planning.
- Open discussion about end-of-life concerns and expectations.
- A sense of control over your illness and plan of care.
Who Can Benefit From Palliative Care?
- Patients with a new diagnosis of cancer or a critical illness.
- Patients with uncontrolled symptoms such as pain, nausea/vomiting, spiritual/emotional issues.
- Patients who have been in the hospital several days with no signs of progress.
- Patients who are not a candidate for curative therapy or have chosen not to have curative therapy.
- Patients with a life-limiting illness and who need to learn how to live comfortably with the illness.
How Can I Receive Palliative Care?
Speak with your doctor and request it. Begin Palliative Care early. Your doctor is the one who can refer you to Palliative Care. Most insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid, cover Palliative Care services.
