Palliative Care and Why It Matters
There is a lot of misinformation surrounding palliative care. Some confuse palliative care with hospice care near Mesa, and some think that palliative care is only for patients who are dying. As a result of the misinformation, many people are not seeking palliative care when it would be helpful.
Learning about this important healthcare can help you advocate for yourself when you need or help you know when to get it for a loved one. Here’s a closer look:
What Is It?
Simply put, palliative care is focused on relieving the pain a patient feels or improving their comfort. If the patient is on a lot of medication, palliative care also focuses on relieving the side effects from that medication, such as nausea or dizziness.
Many types of patients can benefit from palliative care, including those who have been seriously injured in an accident, those who have a chronic illness, and those who have come down with a terminal illness. Palliative care providers near Mesa work alongside a patient’s medical team, including their doctors, nurses, and specialists. Palliative care does not replace traditional medical treatment – it only supplements it.
Palliative Care vs. Hospice Care
Many people confuse hospice care and palliative care because the two have similar goals. However, hospice care is limited to those who are at the end of their lives and are no longer seeking curative treatment. For example, those who have a terminal illness and who have been told they have six months or less to live would qualify for hospice care.
In contrast, anyone can receive palliative care at any time. You do not have to be terminally ill or otherwise expected to die. Hospice care around the Valley can also involve different services, such as spiritual counseling, grief counseling for the family, and more, whereas palliative care is limited to pain and symptom management.
Why Palliative Care is Important
Palliative care can sometimes be overlooked because it isn’t working toward curing an illness or healing a patient. However, it plays a very important role for all patients nevertheless. In particular, it helps to improve a patient’s quality of life while they are going through a debilitating illness or injury. The pain, stress, and side effects they feel during their recovery can make their suffering worse, and palliative care can help to relieve some of that. Patients will have an improved state of mind, which can contribute to a speedier recovery. At a minimum, a better state of mind will make them more cooperative and active participants in their recovery.
People are also living much longer than they used to, and that means that they are suffering from more illness and injury over the course of their lives. We must change the way we approach treatment and think about the total patient experience, not just whether they are healed or are no longer sick. Palliative care helps people to get through illness and injury with a much better experience, reducing their pain and the negative side effects they experience.
Getting Palliative Care
If your loved one is sick or injured, you should consider getting palliative care to improve their quality of life during this time and reduce their suffering. You can hire a private provider, or you can look into centers that offer the care. Your hospital or other care facility should also have contacts to help you find the right provider. Getting palliative care can help your loved one recover more quickly, but it will certainly reduce their pain and just make them feel better overall. When you are feeling helpless and wishing you could do something, remember that you can – you can call a palliative care provider.
Americare Hospice and Palliative Care provides palliative care in Mesa and the surrounding area. We offer in-home services, as well as services in facilities. If your loved one is facing end of life, we also offer hospice care, including a full suite of services such as spiritual advising and grief counseling. We provide services to people of all faiths. Our goal is to reduce suffering by providing the highest quality of care. Contact us in Mesa today to learn more about our services or to meet with one of the members of our team.
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1212 N. Spencer St., Suite #2
Mesa, Arizona 85203
Office: (480) 726-7773
Fax: (480) 726-7790
Email: info@americarehospice.org
