Palliative Care

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What is a Consultation Program?

The Overlake Palliative Care Team Provides

How is Palliative Care different than Hospice Care?

How do I make an appointment?

What is a Consultation Program?

In the clinic or in the hospital, our palliative care consultants work with you and your healthcare providers to create a palliative care plan. This plan is a “roadmap” for living your life as fully as possible. We work in collaboration with the physicians already treating you, who can remain active in your care.

The Overlake Palliative Care Team Provides:

• Expertise in managing symptoms such as nausea, constipation, fatigue, loss of appetite and difficulty sleeping.
• Information and emotional support for you and your family so you can identify your goals and match your treatment to those goals.
• Referrals for services such as physical therapy, naturopathic treatment, nutrition or mental health counseling
• Help with understanding available resources such as support groups, community programs, and financial resources to assist you on your journey.
• Help with completion of legal documents related to medical care, including Advance Directives and Portable Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST).

If you are deciding the best next steps for you or your loved one, palliative care and support is a great option for patients and families who are: 

• Experiencing progressive or complex medical conditions.
• Suffering from pain or other symptoms due to a serious illness.
• Making multiple visits to the emergency room or have had readmissions to the hospital for the same concerns.
• Experiencing psychosocial, spiritual or caregiver distress.
• Seeking a better understanding of what to expect over the course of illness and support with navigating current or future medical decisions. 

Our goal is to help you live comfortably and create the best quality of life. Studies have shown that people diagnosed with cancer and other potentially life-limiting illnesses may live longer and better with the support of palliative care experts who can address the stress and symptoms of illness.

How is Palliative Care different than Hospice Care? 

When some people hear the term “palliative care,” they think it means “hospice” or end-of-life care. However, there is a difference between the services that each provides.
While palliative care can be additional support for anyone with serious illness or complex needs, it is not limited to people who are terminally ill. The goal of palliative care is to improve the quality of life for patients and their families. Palliative care:

• Addresses and provides relief from symptoms, pain and stress — whatever the diagnosis.
• Is given by an interdisciplinary team that may include a physician, nurse practitioner, social worker and chaplain.
• Works with a patient’s other healthcare providers to offer an extra layer of support.
• Is appropriate at any age and any stage of a serious illness.
• Can be provided together with curative treatment.

Hospice Care provides nurturing care for those who are terminally ill and treats the whole person — not only the condition — including pain management and emotional and spiritual support. 

Hospice care provides:

• Care and comfort for those who are terminally ill, with a typical life expectancy of 6 months or less.
• Treatment for pain and symptoms rather than working to cure the disease.
• Services and support for family members, offering counseling and practical help (including cleaning, grocery shopping, etc.).
• Respite care (which allows caregivers time away) 
• Bereavement care while mourning a loss

Hospice Care is provided by hospice agencies and typically provided in-home or at care facilities.

Learn more about hospice care
 

The Overlake Palliative Care Team Provides:

• Expertise in managing symptoms such as nausea, constipation, fatigue, loss of appetite and difficulty sleeping.
• Information and emotional support for you and your family so that you can identify your goals and match your treatment to those goals.
• Care and treatment that is coordinated with your doctors and can be provided together with curative treatment.
• A referral to physical therapy services that can help you continue daily activities and recreational pursuits.
• Help with finding support services to assist you on your journey.

If you are wondering if this is the best option for you or a loved one, below are some of the reasons patients choose palliative and supportive care:

• They are experiencing chronic, progressive or complex medical conditions.
• They are suffering from pain or other symptoms due to a serious illness.
• They have made multiple visits to the emergency room or have had readmissions to the hospital for the same concerns.
• They and/or their families are experiencing psychosocial, spiritual or caregiver distress.
• They need help understanding what to expect over the course of their serious illness and support with decision making and treatment goals.

Our goal is to help you live comfortably and create the best quality of life. Studies have shown that people diagnosed with cancer live longer and better with the support of palliative care experts who can address the stress and symptoms of illness.