Organization:
Vitas Healthcare
Palliative care is care that provides relief from symptoms resulting from disease or injury.
In comparison to curative care, which is meant to cure a disease, palliative care is meant to make the patient more comfortable. The definition of palliative care is "to make a disease or its symptoms less severe or unpleasant without removing the cause." Palliative care will lessen or "palliate" the symptoms and improve your quality of life.
At VITAS, palliative care begins with a plan uniquely tailored by an interdisciplinary team to meet the needs of the patient. The team can work with newly diagnosed patients and those struggling with the effects or after-effects of curative therapies. Some members of the palliative team may be board certified in hospice and palliative medicine; others range from chaplains to social workers.
A palliative consult with the patient provides timely and specific information that helps the patient and family understand what palliative medicine brings to the table and helps physicians and the rest of the interdisciplinary team provide the most appropriate care.
If the patient’s symptoms escalate and can no longer be managed by routine palliative care, VITAS is available 24/7 to transition the patient to a higher level of care with round-the-clock support from a crisis nurse until symptoms are back under control. If symptoms are especially aggressive, VITAS can transfer the patient to an inpatient hospice unit for intensive symptom management until they’re ready to return home.
Application: Call the 24/7 line for more information.
