Bridging the Gap Between Curative Treatment and End-of-Life Care
Masonic Village Hospice’s palliative care offers health care guidance to assist you and your family in handling a life-limiting illness. This is a specialized program that focuses on comfort and is provided in combination with curative treatments, whereas hospice services are provided when curative treatments are no longer being explored.
A registered nurse, in collaboration with your primary care physician, provides medical support that assists in care coordination, symptom management and advance care planning discussions.
Who can benefit from the program?
- Patients with a terminal illness and prognosis of 12 months or less.
- Individuals receiving or transitioning from a home health service.
- Those who have been discharged from hospice services.
- Those who qualify for hospice services but are not ready to discontinue curative treatments.
- Patients referred to hospice but do not meet the criteria to qualify for services.
Palliative care supports patients and families by:
- Helping you to understand the disease process, health care options and define your goals of care.
- Helping with managing symptoms like shortness of breath, anxiety, pain, swelling, nausea and depression.
- Reviewing medications.
- Providing emotional support.
- Assisting in coordination of community resources.
- Starting the conversation about wishes, fears and the choices you may face together.
- Helping you to better manage your disease at home with the goal of reducing hospitalizations.
- Creating a plan for end-of-life care and providing a smooth transition to hospice care when needed.
Should you determine it is time to transition from the palliative care to hospice, it does not mean you’re giving up. Hospice allows you and your family to focus on comfort and symptom management while receiving the best quality of life possible.