What is the difference between hospice and palliative care?
Hospice provides comfort in end-of-life circumstances, after all life-saving or curative measures are discontinued. Palliative care, however, can be provided in conjunction with curative treatments. The patient receiving palliative care may not be experiencing end of life but instead fighting a serious illness and working toward full recovery.
What is palliative care?
Palliative care is treatment focused on the patient’s comfort. It includes:
- Pain control. Patients suffering from cancer and other serious illnesses often experience severe, chronic pain. Palliative care teams identify pain sources and work toward alleviating pain.
- Alleviation of symptoms like shortness of breath, depression, sleep troubles, bladder or bowel incontinence, or fatigue.
- Facilitating communication. Palliative care teams facilitate communication between the patient, his doctor, his care team, and his family. When all of these teams are on the same page, care can be coordinated in the most successful way.
- Spiritual and emotional well-being. Palliative care is focused on the patient as a whole rather than the illness alone.
A better outcome
Palliative care helps patients stay strong and as healthy as possible in the face of illness, allowing them to fight harder and maintain quality of life. Patients in palliative care often have more control over their care and a stronger voice when it comes to their schedules, treatments, and medications. Pain and symptom management help patients push through the hardest times in the course of treatment and see the light at the end of the tunnel toward recovery.
Santé has a fully staffed palliative care team that is eager to listen to your questions and concerns and meet your needs. To learn more about how our short term care facility may benefit you in your time of need, call your local Santé today!