Palliative Care Works

Hospital and palliative care can be a powerful combination

Palliative care involves the treatment not of diseases, but the symptoms that come with both them and certain treatments, as well as the mental health of patients and their loved ones. This quote from a BendBulletin article explains:

The goal of palliative care is simple: Improve the quality of life for people who are dealing with serious chronic or life-threatening medical problems. People with diseases such as cancer, congestive heart failure, HIV/AIDS and kidney failure often have tremendous problems with pain, shortness of breath, fatigue and nausea, among other symptoms. Especially in a busy hospital, it’s challenging to keep these patients comfortable and pain-free and to help them deal with the difficult medical and personal decisions they may face. That’s where palliative care comes in.

More than fifty percent of major hospitals now feature their own palliative care programs, and where they don't the gap is often filled by charity or not for profit groups.

Not only do these programs help make patients more comfortable, they save lives. It's known now that mental health plays a major role in our physical recovery process, and the potent combination of pain/symptom management and counseling, spiritual or otherwise, ensures there is less trouble on that end so that the doctor's efforts on the physical side can be as beneficial as possible.