Mercy Palliative Care Program
This program aims to improve the quality of life of patients who are faced with a progressive, chronic or life-threatening illness, and are in active treatment, have completed therapy or are near their end of life.
The Mercy Palliative Care Program is an inpatient consultation service provided at Mercy Hospital and Trauma Center. All program team members have expertise in treating complex pain and symptoms, and can help coordinate family meetings, discuss goals of care, and facilitate transitions to hospice or other appropriate care settings.
Mercy's palliative care team works together to address the patient's the physical, emotional and spiritual needs in conjunction with all other forms of appropriate medical treatment. The goal is to relieve pain and manage various symptoms, including breathing difficulties, pain, nausea/vomiting, constipation/diarrhea, fatigue and insomnia. Studies have shown that patients who receive palliative care as part of their overall medical treatment have significantly lower pain and discomfort.
Many people think that palliative care and hospice care are the same. In fact, the Mercy Palliative Care Program can be offered as an early intervention, along with life-prolonging therapies, during the course of an illness. Patients can receive palliative care while pursuing curative or life-prolonging medical treatment.
In contrast, Mercy Hospice Care focuses primarily on comfort care versus curative treatments. It is appropriate for patients with a terminal illness, who have a life expectancy of six months or less, or patients who are ready to discontinue life-prolonging therapies.
The Mercy Palliative Care Program is available to all patients, regardless of age, who may be suffering from a serious illness or facing complex medical decisions. For more information, call (608) 756-8248.
