Palliative Care

Our Approach

Palliative Care can be a part of treatment for any person with a chronic, serious, or life-threatening medical condition for which compassionate care is needed. Diagnosis of a chronic, serious, or life-threatening illness can be frightening for patients and family members. Every patient has the right to seek or discontinue a course of treatment. Patients have the right to be relieved of suffering and maintain the best quality of life available. In collaboration with other health care professionals, the Palliative Care team focuses on the impact that chronic illness has on patients and families, giving particular attention to physical, emotional, and spiritual comfort.  

The Franciscan Health Palliative care team works to provide relief to patients and families through education, answering questions, discussing option, and navigating resources to support their illness. The team helps provide patients with relief from the burden of chronic illnesses and offers a support system to patients and their loved ones during an illness.

Support is provided to the patient's loved ones. At the center of Palliative Care is the belief that, even in the face of serious, chronic illness, each individual has the right to live with dignity and comfort, while family members and loved ones receive the level of support they need.

What does the Palliative Care team do?

The palliative medicine care team strives to provide:

• Evaluations of the medical, psychosocial, and spiritual aspects of a patient.
• Help with symptom management.
• Assistance with advanced care planning so that informed decision-making can honor a patient's wishes.
• Family conferences to facilitate communication between patients, families, and health care professionals.
• Emotional and spiritual support for patients and their family members.  

When does someone need Palliative Care?

Palliative Care at Franciscan Health is offered when patients are facing life-limiting conditions. Palliative Care is often provided when treatment moves from cure-focused to comfort-focused treatment, but in some cases Palliative Care can be provided along with treatments that are meant to cure.

Is palliative care like hospice care?

Palliative Care offers support, symptom management, and decision-making assistance to patients who are currently treating their illness, whether aggressively or conservatively. Palliative Care can be provided to admitted patients and their families within the hospital setting or in an outpatient setting.  

Hospice is supportive, comfort care that begins after the decision is made to stop curative aggressive treatment near the end of life. Hospice Care is provided outside of the hospital either at home, in a hospice facility, or at a nursing home.  

Palliative Care terminology

When you or a loved one has a hospital stay, you may hear medical terminology that can be confusing. Below are some terms that you may hear when working with a Palliative Care team.

Comfort Measure Only

Comfort measures typically refer to treatment aimed at prioritizing quality of life and making someone as comfortable as possible.

Cure-focused medical treatment can include things like antibiotics and surgery. Its goal is to extend life and/or cure an illness or condition.

Comfort-focused care will be centered around improving the quality of life until a patient naturally passes. Comfort measures include symptom management, comfort foods and spiritual and emotional supports.

What does a DNR order mean?

A "Do Not Resuscitate" or DNR order is a document that is typically signed when the patient care plan shifts from cure-focused medical treatment to comfort-focused treatment.

Advance Directives

Advance directives are documents that one can sign to let people know how they would like to be cared for if they are ever not able to make those decisions for themselves.

It is suggested that all adults over the age of eighteen have considered and signed advance directives, so that family members do not have to make end-of-life decisions for their loved ones.

Franciscan Health follows the Catholic Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Healthcare Services.