What is palliative care?
Palliative care, also known as supportive care, comes from the Latin root pallium, which refers to an outer garment that cloaks a person. Palliative care “cloaks” the symptoms of illness, adding quality to each day. (1) Delivered by an interdisciplinary team, including a patient’s individual physician, palliative care physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, psychologists and pharmacists, palliative care is designed to help patients diagnosed with serious and life-limiting illness.
Palliative care is different from Hospice care, as it is appropriate at any age, from pediatrics to geriatrics, and at any stage of a serious illness. It can be used in conjunction with curative treatment such as surgery, radiation and
chemotherapy. Hospice is appropriate when a person is diagnosed with a terminal condition and their life expectancy is less than 6 months.
Please visit our ‘About Us’ page to learn more.
Sheri Kittelson, MD
Assistant Professor and Chief