Offering Comfort and Compassion Through Palliative Care
Advanced or complex diseases come with challenging symptoms that can negatively affect your ability to maximize healing and enjoy life. Palliative care focuses on lessening the impact of physical issues on emotional well-being and improving comfort and quality of life for patients and their families.
At Traditions Health, our passionate team of specialists work closely with you, your family, and your healthcare team to provide coordinated care and an extra layer of support when you need it most.
CARE WHEN YOU NEED IT MOST
What Does Palliative Care Involve?
Palliative care is an approach to health care that focuses on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness.
This type of care is provided by a team of doctors, nurse practitioners, social workers, chaplains, and other specialists who work together with your primary care provider. Your compassionate interdisciplinary team will provide the needed care to help relieve your physical, emotional, and spiritual symptoms. They will walk with you on your healthcare journey as your disease progresses to help you and your family maintain the best possible quality of life.
Palliative care focuses on providing relief from symptoms like pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, constipation, nausea, loss of appetite, and difficulty sleeping. Our palliative care providers also offer emotional and spiritual support to help our patients and their families cope with the diagnosis and treatment process.
COMPREHENSIVE CARE
Palliative Care Services
Our palliative care team works hand-in-hand with curative care to help with symptom control and communication regarding options for your plan of care.
Our interdisciplinary palliative care team is dedicated to providing comprehensive care to patients and their families. As a patient's illness progresses, they help to manage physical, emotional, and spiritual symptoms and assist with sensitive issues such as treatment decisions and wishes regarding end-of-life matters.
YOUR GOALS ARE OUR GOALS
Benefits of Palliative Care
Palliative care provides relief in a variety of ways while also improving the quality of life for seriously ill patients. In addition to managing the physical symptoms, our care team also addresses the psychological and spiritual needs of patients and their families.
Enhanced quality of life
Decreased hospitalizations and more independence
Multi-disciplinary approach to care that supports patients throughout all stages of their illness and treatment
Symptom management while still receiving curative treatments
CHOOSING THE RIGHT PATH
Palliative Care vs. Hospice
Palliative care and hospice care are both forms of health care that focus on providing comfort and relieving the symptoms associated with serious illnesses. Although they have similarities, there is a significant difference between palliative care and hospice care.
The main difference between palliative care and hospice care is the timeline. Palliative care begins at diagnosis and can continue for the course of a chronic or life-limiting illness, while hospice care is typically used in end-of-life situations when treatments are no longer effective.
What is comfort care? Palliative care is comfort care. If you are still seeking curative treatment for your illness but need the support for physical, emotional and spiritual symptoms, our palliative care team will provide comfort care to assist you with your quality of life.
When you reach the place in that journey where there are no longer options for curative treatment, or you have decided that you no longer wish to seek curative treatment, our hospice care team will join you to support you in your end-of-life journey.
Traditions Health continues to expand across the country to offer access to quality care to those in need. As we expand, we remain committed to the same values on which we were founded — prioritizing patient-focused, compassionate care, while building strong relationships in the communities we serve.
We are here to help you. Listed below are frequently asked questions regarding palliative care. If you have a question that is not covered in our FAQ please contact us and a Traditions Health team member will be happy to assist you.
What is palliative care?
Palliative care is a specialized approach to medical care that focuses on providing comfort, and physical, emotional and spiritual symptom relief for patients with serious or life-threatening illnesses.
Palliative care is designed to promote the patient’s quality of life regardless of whether they are seeking curative treatment
Who is eligible to receive palliative care?
Palliative Care is specialized care for patients with a serious or life-limiting illness. A serious or life-limiting illness is an illness that progresses causing symptoms that leads to decreased quality of life, difficulty performing daily tasks, or eventual death. Some examples of serious or life-limiting illnesses are cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, and Parkinson’s disease.
Do I need an order from my physician to receive palliative care?
No. Our palliative care team will evaluate your needs and coordinate with you and your other providers. We will establish a plan of care to help you maintain the best possible quality of life while living with a serious or life-limiting illness.
Who provides palliative care?
Your team will be led by a nurse practitioner under the supervision of a physician. Upon assessment, your nurse practitioner will develop a care plan that best fits your needs and may include medical social work and/or spiritual support.
How does palliative care enhance the care I am currently receiving?
The care provided by our compassionate palliative care team will work in conjunction with the care that you are currently receiving. We will provide support for you, your family, and your caregivers. Receiving palliative care provides you with a team of clinicians at home that recognize symptoms early and are able to provide the necessary care to decrease emergency department visits and hospitalizations. Our goal is to to help minimize your symptoms, and to provide you with the physical, emotional, and spiritual support to enhance your quality of life.
Does Medicare cover palliative care?
Palliative care services are covered by Medicare Part B and some private insurance plans.
How do I know if palliative care is right for me?
Palliative care is appropriate for anyone with a serious or life-limiting illness. If you are interested in learning more about how palliative care can help you and your family, please talk to your primary care provider. They will be able to refer you to our interdisciplinary team of specialists who are experts in providing comfort and symptom support for patients and their families.
Where is palliative care provided?
Palliative care is traditionally offered in one of three settings: in a hospital or specialized clinic, in a nursing home, or at home. Your care team, along with your family, can help you make the best decision on where to receive treatment depending on your needs. Traditions Health strives to create convenient, comfortable care environments for all of our patients, so we provide in-home palliative care throughout the United States. Search for your nearest home care options here.
YOUR COMFORT. OUR COMMITMENT.
Request Palliative Care
We're here when you need us. Traditions Health is here to support you, your family, and your caregivers. We provide care and support to help you maintain the highest quality of life possible.
