10-Bed Palliative Care Unit is Opened
The Palliative Care Unit was established in 2003 as a part-time consult service for physicians treating patients with chronic illnesses. The Palliative Care Program focuses on patients’ quality of life, taking an interdisciplinary approach to addressing their physical, emotional and social issues. In August 2006, the Department of Internal Medicine opened a new ten-bed Palliative Care Unit under the direction of Morgan Bain, MD, in the Sticht Center. The response has been overwhelmingly positive with the unit receiving many letters thanking physicians and staff for their compassion and professionalism. Also in 2006, the American Board of Medical Specialties approved Palliative Care as a subspecialty of Internal Medicine. | Palliative Care refers to medical or comfort care that reduces the severity of a disease, slows its progress or provides the patient with pain management for a disease’s physical symptoms. For incurable diseases, in cases where the cure is not recommended due to other health concerns, and when the patient does not wish to pursue a cure, palliative care becomes the focus of treatment. The Palliative Care Consult Service is a multidisciplinary team that helps patients and families with the challenges of end-of-life issues and facilitates transitions to hospice or home community care. |