RESOURCES 

What is Palliative Care?

The goal of palliative care is to improve the quality of life for both patients and families by relieving the symptoms, pain, and mental stress of illness. Palliative care is appropriate for patients of any age and at any stage of a serious illness, independent of prognosis. A palliative care team might be made up of specially-trained physicians, nurse practitioners, social workers, chaplains, and workers from other disciplines as needed, who can work in tandem with a patient’s other doctors to provide an extra layer of support to the patient and family.

Many people mistakenly believe that palliative care is only for patients with an incurable illness or at the end of life. Hospice care is a specific type of palliative care that is for patients nearing the end of life who are no longer seeking a cure for their illness. Palliative care is appropriate from the time of diagnosis and can be provided alongside curative treatment.

The Need

According to statistics published in 2019 by the Center to Advance Palliative Care, at least 12 million adults and 400,000 children are living with serious illnesses. While access to palliative care has increased greatly in larger hospitals – nearly three-quarters of hospitals with 50 or more beds now have palliative care teams – it is much less available in smaller hospitals or in outpatient, community, or home settings where it would also benefit patients and their families. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of palliative care-trained practitioners in the United States, which is sure to get worse as demand for this type of care increases along with the aging population.