Palliative Care
"I don’t have to be in pain."
"Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families … 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." – World Health Organization, 2006
What you should know about Palliative Care
- offers support at any stage of illness to patients whose quality of life is suffering, regardless of life expectancy
- focuses on symptom control and pain management
- can be used in conjunction with your physician’s program of curative care
- supports a collaborative approach between patient, family, physician and your palliative care team
- treats the whole person with physical, mental and emotional pain management
- can be appropriate early in the course of illness, in conjunction with other therapies
- is available in the home or place of residence, or in the hospital, as well as for continuous care
Often called comfort care, the goal of palliative care is to provide treatment of pain and other problems through a combination of early identification, assessment and pain management, and can be used to treat individuals with chronic illness such as:
- severe arthritis
- multiple sclerosis
- life-limiting, long-term illness
- life-threatening conditions that result in hospital readmissions
For more information on RWJVN Palliative Care, call call 888-997-9584 or Contact Us.
