Palliative Care at Home

Compassionate care for complex needs

What is Palliative Care at Home?

Palliative Care at Home is a patient-centered approach to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of people who face complex issues and decisions surrounding advanced illness.

Palliative Care at Home provides comfort, dignity, and quality of life through prevention and relief of pain and other symptoms. This care is offered in conjunction with curative or aggressive medical treatment.

We work directly with you, your patients and their families to cope with the challenges presented over the course of the illness, from making difficult treatment decisions and navigating a complex medical system to finding the best living situation.

Quality of Life for Your Patients

Palliative Care at Home stresses quality of life as much as other dimensions of care. As we continually modify the plan of care to meet your patient's changing needs, we regularly consult with you about key aspects of the illness, including:

Symptoms and their relief
Functional changes
Psychological concerns
Social issues
Disease progression and prognosis

Our team dialogue with you is ongoing as we anticipate potential problems, explore possible solutions and maximize quality of life.

Indicators for a Palliative Care at Home referral

Palliative Care at Home may be appropriate if your patients are experiencing discomfort, dealing with serious illness, or facing complex medical decisions. Some referral indicators include:

Cancer, heart failure, AIDS, liver or kidney problems, Alzheimer's disease or dementia
Pain, nausea, difficulty breathing, continued weight loss or other distressing symptoms
Decreased activity or decline in mobility
Decline in cognitive abilities
Observable changes in condition
Repeated trips to hospital/ER/physician
Lack of response to treatment

Benefits of Palliative Care at Home

Palliative Care at Home assists you and your patients in many ways:

Supporting and educating patients and families
Coordinating medical care from hospital to home
Managing pain and other symptoms
Providing emotional and spiritual support
Easing case-management burdens
Facilitating open and honest communication
Evaluating benefits and burdens of treatment
Developing advance-care directives
Coordinating appropriate homecare services
Delivering high-quality care without high cost

An interdisciplinary team to support your needs

Our goal is to join you in caring for the whole person. Creating the best plan of care is a joint effort between you, your patient, their family, and our expert team which includes:

Physicians
Nurses
Social workers
Chaplains and spiritual care providers
Grief counselors
Pharmacists