Palliative Care
The Palliative Care Department at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center offers palliative care that uniquely supports each patient and their loved ones in their time of need. Our goal is to assist patients, particularly those with incurable, progressive illnesses, while assuring comfort and providing treatment.
At Providence Holy Cross, we help each patient achieve the best possible quality of life through the relief of suffering, control of symptoms and restoration of functional capacity. Palliative care helps patients gain the strength to carry on with daily life, improve their ability to tolerate medical treatments and better understand their choices for care.
Specializing in the relief of pain, symptoms and stress of serious illness, palliative care is appropriate at any point during an illness and can be provided alongside curative care. Patients and families should consider a palliative care consultation for the following:
- Pain that is out of control and/or is not responding to prescribed treatment
- Severe nausea and/or vomiting
- Shortness of breath
- Psychological distress including anxiety, agitation, emotional or spiritual anguish
- Assistance in discussing goals of care such as treatment decisions, options, quality of life, advance directives or code status
Our care extends to assisting the families of patients with the comprehensive management of the patient's physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs. Not only do we help patients improve their ability to cope with treatment, we help families make appropriate choices for a patient’s care through:
- Family counseling
- Planning assistance
- Help navigating the medical system
- Spiritual Care
Providence Holy Cross Palliative Care offers patients and families the following services:
- Assessment and review of patient's plan of care, including identifying patient's end-of-life needs
- Pain Management
- Nutrition Support
- Spiritual Care
- Support Groups
- Collaboration with the clinician's treatment of patient by providing patient-family case management, care coordination and effective management of complex and changing symptoms
- Help navigating the healthcare system
- Guidance with difficult and complex treatment choices as well as preparing patient and family for the end-of-life process
- Coordination of advance directives
- Management, and ensured communication of care and treatment options to the patient, family and loved ones
- Bereavement care to families, friends and loved ones