Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care

Palliative Care at St. John's is a consultative service that provides comfort, support, and education to patients and their families dealing with life-threatening illnesses. The focus is on the patient's cultural, spiritual, and physical needs to relieve suffering and improve quality of life.

What is Palliative Care?

Palliative Care refers to the specialized approach toward improving the quality of life of patients with severe illnesses and addressing the concerns of their families. The goal is to provide symptomatic and emotional support to patients suffering from a potentially life-limiting illness by ensuring their comfort and dignity. Palliative Care is a multidisciplinary medical treatment approach focusing on the person, not just the specific disease. It offers comprehensive management of a patient's illness's physical, psychological, social, and spiritual factors.

What services does Palliative Care provide?

• A comprehensive evaluation that addresses the physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and practical needs of patients and their families
• Help to manage pain and other symptoms
• Help with advance care planning and clarifying the goals of care.
• Assistance for patients and families who are struggling with difficult decision-making, such as changing the focus of treatment to comfort measures
• Coordinated care, support, and education throughout the course of the illness
• Assistance with transitioning into the community after hospitalization
• Linkage to community resources to address unmet needs
• End of life care

How can a Palliative Care consult be arranged?

Patients and family members can ask their physician if a Palliative Care consult may be appropriate, or a direct request can be made directly to the Palliative Care Coordinator. For more information, please call (805) 988-2890.