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Palliative care is supportive care for people with advanced illness. "Palliate" means to ease. The focus of palliative care is to ease suffering that results from illness.
Palliative care provides treatment for symptoms even when the underlying disease cannot be cured. The main goals are to relieve pain and other discomfort, and to reduce stress. Palliative care also provides information to help a patient live with serious physical illness.
It considers emotional, social and spiritual needs, as well. During illness, palliative care can help patients and their family achieve a better quality of life.
Holy Cross Hospital offers comprehensive, multidisciplinary palliative care for patients with serious, life-limiting illnesses such as cancer, congestive heart failure, chronic lung disease, end-stage kidney disease, and dementia.
The palliative care department is a team of professionals consisting of medical doctors, nurse practitioners, pastoral care, pharmacology and administrative support services. We treat the whole person; meeting the patient's medical, emotional, spiritual and social needs to provide comfort, dignity and the best possible quality of life.
The palliative care team works closely with the attending physician and nursing staff to provide expert pain and symptom control, education, counseling, advocacy and coordination of services for patients and families facing end-of-life challenges and decisions.
For more information on Holy Cross Hospital's Palliative Care Service, please call 301-754-7253.
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