Palliative care (pronounced pal-ee-uh-tiv) is a specialized medical care for people with a serious illness. It focuses on providing patients with relief from symptoms and stress of a serious illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and family.
Lakewood Health System’s palliative care services address the physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs that face both our patients and their family when they have a serious, chronic, or life-limiting illness.
Our priority is to facilitate relief of pain symptoms and provide information to help patients make their own healthcare choices, which allows them to be in control of their decisions. Our team also assists in continuity of care between multiple providers and departments. This level of care and support is what makes palliative care services essential.
Lakewood offers two different types of palliative care: home-based, which is where our team comes to your home to provide hands-on care, and community-based, where care is offered through our hospital, clinic, or long-term care via phone or through on-site hospital or clinic visits.
This extra layer of care and support is provided by a specially-trained team of doctors, nurses, and other specialists who work together with the patient’s provider. These services are appropriate for persons of any age, and at any stage during their illness. It can be provided alongside curative treatments.
Palliative care is provided for anyone with a serious illness. It is appropriate when treating illnesses such as:
- Heart disease
- Kidney disease
- Lung disease
- Liver disease
- Cancer
- Neurological disease
- Dementia
- Stroke
- Parkinson’s
- ALS
- Other serious diseases
The Team
Your primary physician will still be there to guide your overall care. Participation in palliative care means that a specially-trained care team will be there to support your choices. Team members include: a palliative care physician specialist; RN case manager; nutritionist; respiratory, physical and massage therapists; social services, and spiritual care.
Contact us for more information about our palliative care services.
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