Palliative Care
Navigating Your Health Journey
Palliative care is a specialized medical field aimed at easing the pain, symptoms, and stress associated with severe illnesses. Accessible at any age and any stage of the disease, it often spans over an extended time frame. Starting from the moment of diagnosis, palliative care can be provided alongside or without curative treatments for those with severe health conditions. Notably, our palliative care team serves as an invaluable aid, assisting families in making challenging decisions about treatments and care.
Enhancing Quality Of Life
Palliative care is a distinct medical specialty, aimed at enhancing the quality of life for both patients dealing with serious illnesses and their families. Its primary objectives include:
- Offering specialized care to individuals with serious health conditions.
- Providing relief from symptoms, pain, and stress irrespective of the diagnosis, alongside any curative treatments if present.
- Enhancing the quality of life for both the patient and their family.
- Coordinating a team of doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains, and other specialists to provide an additional support layer for patients.
Facing a severe or life-limiting illness brings many difficult decisions, particularly about managing related symptoms. This is where palliative care shines, providing much-needed guidance and relief during these challenging times.
About us
In March, 2018, Ruth, Jenny, Rick and Alice Johnson provided a transformative gift to launch and sustain a palliative support service to be started by Our Hospice of South Central Indiana.
Ruth Johnson commented, “Our Hospice has a long history of doing a lot of good for many people as they provide care during a very significant part of people’s lives, and it is a strong organization that will be here for generations to come.
We are happy to support the community through our commitment to Our Hospice.”
Palliative Care began accepting patients in June of 2019 after extensive planning.
In July, 2020, in memory of her parents, Kirby and Caroline Risk, Sherry Risk Stark made a transformational gift, the largest gift received by Our Hospice of South Central Indiana, to establish an endowment fund in memory of her parents.
The James Kirby Risk and Caroline Robinson Risk Fund for Palliative Care will provide sustaining support to Our Hospice of South Central Indiana for palliative care services, an innovative patient care model that provides demonstrated improvement to patients enduring a chronic illness.
Today, Palliative Care is provided at our Outpatient Clinic and during inpatient stays at Columbus Regional Hospital.
WHO IS PALLIATIVE CARE RIGHT FOR?
Palliative care is particularly beneficial for patients dealing with a serious illness. These may include conditions such as cancer, heart diseases or heart failure, pulmonary diseases like COPD, advanced stages of renal or hepatic diseases, dementia, stroke, and ALS. Our specialized care team works tirelessly to manage symptoms and improve the quality of life for patients living with these challenging health conditions.
WHEN IS THE TIME RIGHT FOR PALLIATIVE CARE?
Palliative care addresses the needs of patients undergoing significant symptom burden or physical discomfort due to their severe illness or its treatment. It facilitates comprehensive discussions on end-of-life matters for those with a life-limiting prognosis, aiding in defining care goals. Moreover, it provides for patients with unmet psychosocial needs, those lacking caregiving assistance at home, and those in need of referrals to additional caregivers or community resources. It also caters to patients with unfulfilled spiritual needs, offering holistic care in the face of serious illness.
HOW PALLIATIVE CARE CAN HELP
The Palliative Care team at Our Hospice is an alliance of specially trained physicians, nurse practitioners, RN case managers, social workers, and chaplains. They work in tandem with your primary care provider or other physician to coordinate your care, offering an extra layer of support for you and your family. Their expertise lies in managing pain, disease symptoms, and treatment side effects to help maintain your independence, comfort, and prevent unplanned hospitalizations. They can assist in setting your care goals, advance directives, and identifying community resources. They stand ready to help with difficult treatment decisions, managing pain and distress, addressing emotional and spiritual concerns, and coping with grief, loss, and caregiver stress. Our team delivers palliative care in outpatient clinics, at your home, or in a hospital setting.
HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT PALLIATIVE CARE?
Your support will ensure palliative care services for patients and families is sustained long-term by providing resources for care that is not reimbursed and requires philanthropy. The physician consult for palliative care is the only part of the care that is currently reimbursed by insurance, Medicare or Medicaid. Neither the work of the multidisciplinary team that includes nurses, social workers and support staff, nor the physical location or equipment necessary are reimbursed.
Contact us
We are here to help, to listen, and to guide. Reach out to us today and let’s explore together how we can support you and your loved ones during this time of need. Whether you have a question, need some advice, or are ready to start the journey with us, we’re only a phone call or a click away.
Use our simple online form to get in touch, or for a more immediate response, call us directly at 812-314-8000. Our compassionate team is ready to offer the support and care you need.