Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problems associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual.*

Palliative Care*

• Provides relief from pain and other distressing symptoms;
• Affirms life and regards dying as a normal process;
• Intends neither to hasten nor postpone death;
• Integrates the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care;
• Offers a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death;
• Offers a support system to help the family cope during the patients's illness and in their own bereavement;
• Uses a team approach to address the needs of patients and their families, including bereavement counseling, if indicated;
• Will enhance quality of life, and may also positively influence the course of illness;
• Is applicable early in the course of illness, in conjunction with other therapies that are intended to prolong life, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy, and includes those investigations needed to better understand and manage distressing clinical complications.

* World Health Organization definition: Palliative Care

A Palliative Care Program extends the principles of comfort care to a broader population of patients who are experience a progressive illness. Patients with cancer, lung, heart and kidney disease as well as dementia and general debility and decline have benefited from the palliative care services offered by Catskill Area Hospice and Palliative Care, Inc. The goal of palliative care is to achieve the highest quality of life possible. The goal is comfort. Pain and symptom control related to physical, emotional and spiritual concerns are evaluated and managed by the specialized palliative care staff.

Your primary physician continues to be involved with your care with the addition of the palliative care staff, which includes a Certified Palliative Care Registered Nurse, Medical Social Worker and Spiritual Care Counselor. The Palliative Care team emphasizes supportive care while your primary physician provides more aggressive treatment.

If you are looking for more information on Palliative Care services or would like to discuss further how you can benefit from palliative care please call the Admissions Dept. 607-432-6773 or email: admissions@cahpc.org.