Hospice And Palliative Care
While talking about serious illness and death may be uncomfortable, it’s important to talk about your wishes and concerns with your family and physician before you have a medical crisis. At Mountain Medical Arts, PLLC in Burnsville, North Carolina, the doctors are board-certified in palliative and hospice care and deliver services in your home, nursing home, or hospital to keep you comfortable and provide dignity and grace at a difficult time. Call Mountain Medical Arts or schedule an appointment online today to learn more.
What is palliative and hospice care?
Palliative and hospice care are approaches to providing patient-focused care when you have a serious or terminal illness. While both are designed to provide comfort, relief from symptoms, and dignity, palliative care is for anyone with a serious illness, while hospice care is designated for people who have six months or less to live if their illness is allowed to continue on its natural course.
Palliative care is often combined with medical treatments to heal your disease. Many medical procedures are designed to heal your body but don’t provide much relief or comfort for patients. Chemotherapy, for example, is an effective tool to fight many types of cancer, but doesn’t make you feel better.
What is included in palliative and hospice care?
Palliative care includes medical treatments and therapies designed to help you feel better while you’re dealing with a severe illness or disease. This could consist of medicine, nutritional advice, physical therapy, and integrative therapies. Palliative care is separate from medical treatments for your illness, but can you can combine palliative care with traditional medicine.
Hospice care includes a variety of services to help you stay comfortable during the end of your life. Some of the services you may receive in hospice care include:
• Medication for pain control and symptom relief
• Medical equipment and supplies
• Physical or occupational therapy
• Dietary counseling
• Spiritual and grief counseling
• Short-term inpatient or respite care
• Other services to ensure your comfort as determined by your hospice team
The primary difference between palliative care and hospice care is that when you have hospice care, you stop other treatments designed to fight your disease or prolong your life.
How do I plan for end-of-life care?
While no one ever wants to talk about serious illness and death, it’s important to talk about your wishes and concerns with your family and physician before you have a medical crisis.
The physicians at Mountain Medical Art are board-certified in palliative and hospice care and experienced in providing advance care planning and end-of-life care. They can work with you and your family, providing counseling to help you communicate your needs clearly. Having these hard conversations early can make your end-of-life as comfortable and graceful as possible.
If you have questions about or need palliative or hospice care, call Mountain Medical Arts or schedule a consultation online today.