What is palliative care? Palliative care is medical care for people living with serious illness. It focuses on providing relief from the pain, symptoms and stress of a serious illness — whatever the diagnosis. Palliative care also focuses on improving the quality of life, helping with discussions and preparations for various scenarios, and providing emotional support to patients and their families. The goal is to improve the quality of life for both the person dealing with an illness and those close to them. 

Palliative care:

• Helps patients and families with complex decision making.
• Assists with the coordination of care.
• Provides an extra layer of support for patients and loved ones.
• Is a partnership between patients, their supporters and the medical system.
• Helps people have the best possible quality of life for as long as they can.

Palliative care is provided by a team of specialists, including board-certified palliative medicine doctors as well as nurses, social workers, chaplains and others who collaborate with your doctor to provide an extra layer of support during your treatment journey, whether that journey takes place in the clinic or in the hospital. 

Palliative care is tailored to the needs of each patient and his or her family. We recognize that the goals of care and quality of life for each patient may change over time. Palliative care teams can offer:

• Assistance in relieving symptoms of medical illness such as pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, constipation and nausea.
• Coordination with your medical team to ensure you understand your condition and options for medical care.
• Emotional, social and spiritual support.

Palliative care is appropriate at any age and at any stage of a serious illness. It does not depend upon your prognosis and can be provided at the same time as curative treatments. Hospice care is meant specifically for people approaching the final months of life. 

Recent studies show that patients who receive palliative care show improvement in pain and other symptoms such as nausea or shortness of breath; communication with their doctors and family members; and emotional and spiritual well-being.

If you are interested in receiving palliative care for your illness while in the hospital, the first step is to speak to the doctor who is treating you. Be sure to explain to your attending doctor what is important for improving your quality of life and your doctor can refer you to palliative care, if appropriate.

If you are not in the hospital and are interested in consulting with a palliative care physician, please ask your primary care provider or the physician who is managing your illness for a referral.

At Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women & Children, our palliative medicine clinicians are experts in pain management and symptom control. They make your physical comfort their top priority.

Our Palliative Care team includes a board-certified palliative medicine physician, an advanced practice registered nurse, chaplains and social workers; along with Child Life specialists, behavioral health specialists and complementary therapists.

Palliative care is provided by your primary physician and a team of specialists that may include:

• Palliative medicine clinicians
• Social workers
• Chaplains
• Child life specialists
• Behavioral health specialists such as psychologists and psychiatrists
• Integrative care therapists (e.g., healing touch and reiki)

Our social workers offer psychosocial and emotional support, and assistance with practical needs. They also facilitate discussions surrounding values, goals and preferences set by the patient and family over time.

Our chaplains provide spiritual support to you and your family members. They can also provide you with spiritual services that respect and honor your cultural beliefs and rituals.

Together with your primary medical team, the Palliative Care team can assist in family/team meetings and offer guidance and support for difficult treatment decisions and goal setting.

The Palliative Care team will make a comprehensive assessment and plan for managing the physical, psychological, social and/or spiritual needs of patients and their families. 

For more information on Palliative Care at Kapiʻolani, please contact your primary care physician.

The Palliative Care team at Straub Benioff includes dedicated physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains and more who work together to help patients and families identify ways to help them have the best possible quality of life.

Palliative care services at Straub Benioff include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Continuity of care across clinical settings.
• Guidance with difficult treatment choices.
• Goals of care and/or advance care planning.
• Pain and symptom management.
• Spiritual support.
• Psychosocial support for patients and families.
• Bereavement support for families and care team members of patients.

The Straub Benioff Palliative Care team recognizes that there are often many people in a patient's life who offer special types of support. Parents, children, siblings, extended family, religious leaders, friends and primary care physicians often provide levels of care that few or no others can. Therefore, it is our goal to provide assistance to them. Palliative care is holistic care, focusing on mind, body and spiritual aspects of illness. Our team works to improve the quality of life for everyone involved in caring for the patient, including:

• The patient themselves, who may be suffering from serious progressive illness such as cancer, chronic lung disease, heart disease, liver disease, kidney failure or dementia.
• Family members, who may be suffering as well but often do not seek assistance for themselves.
• Health care providers, who sometimes struggle with their own emotions as they grow closer to a patient or family.

For more information about palliative care at Straub Benioff, please contact your primary care provider.