Palliative care and hospice care are often confused, and it is easy to see why. Both aim to improve quality of life for a person with a serious illness and for the family around them. The difference is in timing and in the treatment choices a person is making. If you are wondering whether palliative care is right for your loved one, it may be worth a conversation at any point during a life-changing illness, including while curative treatment is still underway.
How Palliative Care and Hospice Care Differ
| Palliative care | Hospice care | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The overall discipline of actively managing and treating physical, emotional, spiritual and social suffering | A specific type of palliative care |
| When it can begin | At any time during a life-changing illness, from diagnosis onward | After a terminal diagnosis |
| Curative treatment | Can continue alongside palliative care | Suspended by choice |
| Main focus | Easing symptoms and supporting quality of life, for the person and the family | Comfort and dignity at the end of life |
How Palliative Care Supports Your Loved One and Family
Palliative care can be delivered in any setting, including the home, hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. Depending on the setting, it can include treatments such as intravenous pain medications, massage therapy and intensive pastoral care interventions.
Care is provided for the person and the family by an interdisciplinary team that includes nurses, certified nurse assistants, social workers, physicians, spiritual care providers and other health professionals. The team:
- Works to ease pain and other discomfort, with the aim of improving quality of life, lifting mood and decreasing fatigue
- Helps the person and the family make medical decisions
- Assists people in planning for the future so they can live well
- Cares for loved ones by providing emotional and spiritual support
Situations Where Palliative Care Can Help
Palliative care may be worth asking about when:
- Your loved one has a serious or life-changing illness, at any stage from diagnosis onward
- Pain, shortness of breath, nausea, anxiety or sleeplessness are affecting their comfort
- Your family is facing medical decisions and would like help working through them
- Your loved one wants support planning for the future
- You, as a family member, could use emotional or spiritual support too
A person does not have to stop curative treatment to receive palliative care. If you are not sure which type of care fits, Gurwin’s team can help guide that decision.
Palliative Care at Gurwin in Commack
The Palliative Care Center at Gurwin in Commack offers private rooms for a small number of patients who may benefit from palliative care. The team works to relieve suffering by managing symptoms such as pain, shortness of breath, nausea, anxiety, sleeplessness and many others.
Receiving services in an inpatient setting like Gurwin means access to physicians, nurses and aides who are specially trained in palliative care. It also means social opportunities and therapeutic recreation activities tailored to each person’s needs and abilities.
The goals of palliative care at Gurwin are specific to each patient, realistic, related to life expectancy, and driven by the patient whenever possible.
What to Ask Your Loved One’s Care Team
These questions can help you prepare for a conversation about your loved one’s care:
- Which symptoms are causing the most discomfort, and how will the team address them?
- Can my loved one continue current treatments while receiving palliative care?
- What are the goals of care, and how do they fit my loved one’s wishes?
- Who is on the care team, and who will be our main contact?
- How will our family be kept informed and involved in care decisions?
- What emotional and spiritual support is available for our family?
Palliative Care FAQs
Is palliative care the same as hospice care?
No. Palliative care is the overall discipline of managing suffering and can be provided at any time during a serious illness, including alongside curative treatment. Hospice care is a specific type of palliative care for people with a terminal diagnosis who have chosen to suspend curative treatments.
Can my loved one still receive treatment to cure their illness?
Yes. People receiving palliative care can continue to receive curative treatments.
Who is on a palliative care team?
An interdisciplinary team that includes nurses, certified nurse assistants, social workers, physicians, spiritual care providers and other health professionals.
Where is palliative care provided?
It can be delivered in any setting, including the home, hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. At Gurwin, the Palliative Care Center in Commack offers private rooms for a small number of patients.
Start the Conversation with Gurwin’s Care Team
If you are unsure which type of care fits your loved one, Gurwin’s team is here to help. Learn more about our palliative and hospice care program or contact us to start the conversation.
