As healthcare continues to evolve to address the diverse needs of an aging population, palliative care is an option worthy of consideration. Palliative care is an effective, holistic, multi-disciplinary approach, which includes specialized medical care for people with serious illnesses. Its focus is to provide relief from the chronic symptoms, pain, and stress regardless of the diagnosis. It is appropriate at any age and at any stage and can be provided along with curative treatment.
Brazos Valley Palliative Care (BVPC) is delivering this type of care through a partnership with Texas A&M Physicians. BVPC is focused on creating a sustainable model for a physician-lead, out-patient, community palliative care program. Measurable outcomes include keeping patients comfortable in their home, reducing hospital readmissions, and encouraging patients and families to have conversations regarding end-of-life goals and wishes.
The Goals of Palliative Care
The concept of palliative care is not new. Starting in 2006, the United States recognized Palliative Medicine as a board-certified sub-specialty of Internal Medicine with specialized fellowships for physicians who are interested in the field. Along with physicians, palliative care relies on input from pharmacists, nurses, chaplains, social workers, psychologists, and other health professionals in formulating a plan of care to relieve suffering in all areas of a patient’s life. This multidisciplinary approach allows the palliative care team to address physical, emotional, spiritual, and social concerns that arise with advanced illness. BVPC assists the physician with patients who have challenging co-morbidities, disease process, or family dynamics. BVPC helps patients adjust to curative treatment strategies including emotional, psychological, and spiritual issues.
BVPC strives not only to provide care to the patient and family, but also to other healthcare providers in the community. This is achieved through reduced hospital and ER admissions, reduced physician office phone calls, medication management, coordinated care, alleviation of crisis situations, and assisted decision making. While palliative care offers a broad range of services, the goals of palliative treatment are concrete: relief from suffering, treatment of pain and other distressing symptoms, psychological and spiritual care, and a support system to help the individual live as actively as possible and to nurture and sustain the individual’s family.
Treatments
Today, patients with cancer, heart disease, chronic lung disease, AIDS, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and many other serious illnesses are eligible for palliative care. BVPC helps with symptom management needed as a result of both the disease and treatment. For example, chemotherapy drugs may cause nausea and vomiting. Also, narcotic drugs to control pain frequently lead to constipation. By providing relief for various symptoms, palliative care can help the patient carry on with daily life, and improve the ability to undergo or complete medical treatments.
Other symptoms palliative care may address:
- Diarrhea
- Bowel or bladder problems
- Loss of appetite, weight loss, or wasting
- Shortness of breath or labored breathing
- Coughing
- Depression
- Delirium or mental confusion
- Weakness
- Difficulty sleeping
Accessing Brazos Valley Palliative Care Services
Palliative care is indicated for patients with any serious illness who have physical, psychological, social, or spiritual distress, as a result of the treatment they are seeking or receiving. Palliative care is not hospice, and is not reserved for patients at the end-of-life. It can increase the quality of life and lengthen the patient’s life. Brazos Valley Palliative Care is a consulting service and works in conjunction with home health or curative treatments.
The BVPC physician and nurse make home visits as needed, have frequent phone calls with patients and families, and provide updates to the patient’s primary care physician and other providers contributing to the patient’s care. BVPC can also coordinate medical services and resources like pharmacy, durable medical equipment, and therapies. Please call 979.820.3504 for more information.
by Rhonda Watson, Professional Liaison at Hospice Brazos Valley