Palliative Medicine

Palliative medicine services can help patients of all ages with complex serious, chronic, or terminal illnesses, including:

• Cancer
• Heart disease
• Kidney disease
• Lung disease
• Neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other dementias

These services can benefit patients who are experiencing repeated emergency department visits or hospital admissions related to their health conditions.

Palliative medicine services can also support a patient’s loved ones as they navigate a patient’s illnesses. 

Palliative medicine services offer a continuum of care and can benefit patients at any stage of a serious illness. Ideally, they are introduced soon after a diagnosis. They can be provided with or without treatments meant to improve health. Palliative medicine services can include hospice care, which supports patients in the last months of life when curative and restorative treatments are no longer appropriate or no longer desired.

At UHS Hospitals, the inpatient palliative medicine team includes physicians, nurse practitioners, and social workers.  The team works closely with other disciplines, including nursing, pharmacy, care management, and spiritual care, to care for patients and their loved ones. 

Depending on an individual’s plan of care, the inpatient palliative medicine team may place a referral to an outpatient palliative care program or a hospice program.

Most insurance plans, including Medicaid and Medicare, cover palliative medicine services.
 

Ask your provider about speaking with the palliative medicine team.

If you have questions, please call the palliative medicine team at 607-763-6982.