Palliative Care
At Saint Luke’s, palliative care goes beyond pain and symptom management to provide whole-person support tailored to each patient’s needs, goals, and values. For patients diagnosed with serious illnesses, our Supportive and Palliative Medicine team helps navigate the challenges that come with managing complex medical conditions while maintaining the best possible quality of life for the patient and their family.
Why choose us for palliative care?
Our specially trained physicians, nurses, social workers, and other specialists work closely with patients, families, and referring providers to create personalized care plans that align with each patient's goals, values, and preferences. With seamless coordination across Saint Luke's hospitals, Saint Luke's Cancer Institute, Saint Luke's Home Care and Hospice, and other specialty services, patients benefit from comprehensive care designed to address their physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs.
What is palliative care?
Palliative care, also known as supportive medicine or advanced illness management, is specialized medical care for people living with a serious or chronic illness. It provides additional support to help patients better manage pain and other difficult-to-treat symptoms and improve quality of life.
With palliative care, patients do not stop treatments that aim to cure or control a serious illness. It works alongside treatments and is appropriate at any age and any stage of serious or chronic illness.
What conditions or illnesses can palliative care help with?
Palliative care is commonly used alongside curative treatments for conditions including:
- Cancer
- Heart failure
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Parkinson’s disease and other neurological disorders
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
What services are included in palliative care?
Palliative care is provided by a specially trained team of physicians, nurses, social workers, and other specialists working together with patients, families, and the patient’s doctors to develop a personalized plan for additional supportive care.
Patients and families can benefit from:
- Comprehensive symptom management for pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, nausea, anxiety, depression, and other treatment-related side effects
- Guidance through complex medical decision-making, including advance care planning and discussions about goals of care
- Care coordination and communication support to help patients, families, and their doctors align treatment options and care plans with the patient’s preferences and priorities
- Emotional, social, and spiritual support for patients and their families as they navigate the challenges of a serious illness
Where is palliative care provided?
Saint Luke’s typically provides palliative care during a hospital stay. Patients may also qualify for outpatient or in-home palliative care depending on their diagnosis, severity of symptoms, and level of care needed.
In the hospital
For patients admitted to a Saint Luke’s metro area hospital, the Supportive and Palliative Medicine team helps guide communication and decision-making between patients, families, and their doctors when the situation is medically complex. They can also help manage ongoing pain and other symptoms related to illness or treatments.
Our palliative experts work to help patients and their families understand their medical choices and ensure care plans align with each patient’s goals and priorities during their hospital stay and upon discharge.
Contact any member of your Saint Luke’s hospital care team to request a Supportive and Palliative Medicine consultation.
As an outpatient
Oncology patients experiencing cancer-related symptoms or stress may request a referral to Saint Luke’s Palliative Oncology Clinic.
Working in coordination with Saint Luke’s Cancer Institute, our specialty-trained palliative medicine providers and nursing support staff provide management of pain and treatment side-effects and assist with continuing discussions around cancer treatment options and goals of care in collaboration with your oncology team and other doctors.
For questions about outpatient care through Saint Luke’s Palliative Oncology Clinic, call 816-932-7933.
At home
For people living with serious illness who have difficulty leaving their home, Saint Luke’s Home Care offers advanced illness management as part of a patient’s home health care plan.
To learn more about services through Saint Luke's Home Care, call 816-756-1160.
What’s the difference between palliative care and hospice care?
Palliative care and hospice care are similar in their approach to providing comprehensive support for patients with serious illnesses. Both types of care focus on improving comfort and quality of life by managing pain and symptoms and providing emotional, social, and spiritual support for the patient and their family.
However, key differences between palliative care and hospice lie in the patient’s treatment goals and the timing in which care is delivered.
Learn more about key differences in the frequently asked questions section below.
Frequently asked questions
What is the focus of palliative care vs. hospice care?
Palliative care focuses on managing complex pain and symptoms related to the patient's disease process or treatment side effects, along with support to help navigate difficult medical decisions.
Hospice care focuses on providing comfort, dignity, and emotional and spiritual support for patients and their loved ones, along with end-of-life planning.
When can palliative care begin?
For palliative services, care can begin as soon as serious illness is diagnosed, and at any stage of illness when related symptoms or stress are present.
Hospice care can begin when illness is terminal, and life expectancy is six months or less.
Can curative treatment continue with palliative care?
Yes. Palliative care works alongside treatments aimed to cure a serious illness or extend life.
A patient may be eligible for hospice care when treatments to cure or control the illness are no longer available or no longer wanted.
Is palliative care covered by insurance?
Palliative care services are covered by most health insurance plans, but the extent of coverage can vary. Check with your insurance provider regarding your coverage for palliative care.