There’s often confusion when it comes to palliative care and hospice care. There are many similarities, but they aren’t quite the same.
What Is Palliative Care?
Palliative care is specialized healthcare for people living with a serious illness. This type of care is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness, it is based on need, not prognosis and helps align the goals of care. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and family.
Where Is Palliative Care Provided?
- Assisted living facility
- Home
- Hospital
- In-person care center – limited availability
- Nursing facility
- Telehealth, when available
Palliative care is provided by an interdisciplinary care team of providers who work together with the patient’s community physicians to provide an extra layer of support. It is appropriate at any age and stage in a serious illness, and it can be provided along with curative treatment and may begin at the time of diagnosis.
We work to develop a personalized plan for areas you define as most meaningful to improve health and quality of life as well as understanding your goals of care and advance care planning.
Over time, if the doctor or the palliative care team believes ongoing treatment is no longer helping, palliative care could transition to hospice care.
FAQs About Palliative Care
Anyone with a serious illness at any stage of their disease can be treated.
Yes, as much as possible.
Yes, if you wish.
It depends on your benefits and treatment plan.
As needed, you will receive care and assistance on goals of care and advance care planning from our providers, social workers, chaplains and nursing team.
- Assisted living facility
- Home
- Hospital
- In-person care center – limited availability
- Nursing facility
- Telehealth, when available
What Is Hospice Care?
Hospice care is an interdisciplinary approach to providing care for patients at the end of life. At some point, it may not be possible to cure a serious illness, or a patient may choose not to undergo certain treatments. Hospice is designed for this situation. The patient beginning hospice care understands that his or her illness is not responding to medical attempts to cure it or to slow the disease’s progress. It focuses on symptom management and reducing suffering. Comfort is the primary goal.
Where Is Hospice Care Provided?
- Assisted living facility
- Home
- Hospital
- Inpatient care center
- Nursing facility
Hospice care can successfully address critical end-of-life concerns such as pain control, symptom management, dying with dignity, psychosocial issues, and reducing the burden placed on family caregivers.
The Ohio’s Hospice team offers a total system of care for both patients and families to provide the best quality end-of-life experience possible.
FAQs About Hospice Care
Anyone with a serious illness whom doctors think has only a short time to live, often less than 6 months.
Yes, as much as possible.
Treatments providing symptom relief are often part of a patient’s hospice plan of care. Curative treatments are not part of hospice care
Costs of care are covered by Medicare or private insurance. You will never receive a bill from Ohio’s Hospice for the care we provide.
As long as you meet the hospice’s criteria of an illness with a life expectancy of months, not years.
- Assisted living facility
- Home
- Hospital
- Inpatient care center
- Nursing facility
For more information about hospice care, contact Ohio’s Hospice at 800.653.4490.
