Palliative Care

What is palliative care?

Palliative care is a field of medicine that focuses on decreasing pain and increasing comfort in individuals living with serious illnesses.  

Healthcare providers, including physicians and nurses, work in various settings, like hospitals or skilled nursing facilities, to provide care and support to palliative care patients.  

Some conditions treated by palliative care include COPD, ALS, cancer and heart disease.  

What’s the difference between palliative care and hospice care?  

Both hospice care and palliative care reduce stress and discomfort and provide relief for individuals living with advanced illnesses. In contrast to hospice care, palliative care is not only for end-of-life care. Rather, it focuses on needs, meaning it can be supplemental to curative treatment. 

Why is palliative care important to healthcare?

Palliative care is important because it greatly improves the quality of life for individuals living with serious illnesses. Specifically, palliative care reduces stress and discomfort, such as depression, fatigue, nausea and pain, to ultimately relieve suffering.  

Palliative care also increases support from healthcare providers and ensures the alignment of care goals.