Palliative Care

Kapiolani

Palliative Care at Kapiolani

At Kapiolani Medical Center, our palliative medicine clinicians are experts in pain management and symptom control and make your physical comfort their top priority.

• Download the Kapiolani Palliative Care Program Guide (PDF)

Our social workers offer psychosocial and emotional support and assistance with practical needs. they also facilitate discussions surrounding values, goals and preferences set by the patient and family over time.

Our chaplains provide spiritual support to you and your family members. they can also provide you with spiritual services that respect and honor your cultural beliefs and rituals.

Together with your primary medical team, the Palliative Care Service can assist in family/team meetings and offer guidance and support with difficult treatment decisions and goal setting.

The Palliative Care Team will make a comprehensive assessment and plan for managing the physical, psychological, social and/or spiritual needs of patients and their families. The goal is to improve quality of life for patients and their families. Palliative care is appropriate at any point in your illness.

How do you know if you need palliative care?

You may want to consider palliative care if you or your loved one suffers from pain or other symptoms due to any serious, life-threatening or limiting illness; spiritual or emotional pain that is not under control;
or if you or your loved one needs help understanding the situation.

Palliative care can be very effective.

Recent studies show that patients who receive palliative care show improvement in pain and other symptoms such as nausea or shortness of breath; communication with their doctors and family members; and emotional and spiritual well-being.

Palliative care begins when you need it.

Palliative care can occur at the same time as all other treatments. It does not depend upon your prognosis. Pain and other symptoms affect your quality of life and the stress can have a big impact on your family. The Palliative Care team can help.

Getting palliative care is easy.

Ask your doctor for a referral. We work together with your primary physician so you will not have to give up your own doctor.

Here’s what you can expect with palliative care:

The palliative care service provided at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children can offer you:

• Improved ability to tolerate medical treatments with help relieving symptoms such as pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, constipation and nausea.
• Strength to carry on with daily life by providing emotional and spiritual support.
• Better understanding of your condition and your choices for medical care.

Palliative care is not the same as hospice care.

Hospice care is meant for people in the final months of life. Non-hospice palliative care, on the other hand, is available to you at any time during your illness. Unlike hospice, you can also receive palliative care at the same time as curative treatments.

Our Palliative Care Team

Our Palliative Care team includes a board-certified palliative medicine physician, an advanced practice registered nurse, chaplains and social workers; along with child life specialists, behavioral health specialists and complementary therapists.

Palliative care is provided by your primary physician and a team of specialists that may include:

• Palliative medicine clinicians
• Social workers
• Chaplains
• Child life specialists
• Behavioral health specialists such as psychologists and psychiatrists
• integrative care therapists(e.g., Healing touch and reiki)

For more information on Palliative Care at Kapiolani Medical Center, please contact your primary care physician. 

Pali Momi

Palliative Care at Pali Momi

What is Palliative Care?

Palliative  Care....

• Is special medical care for people with a serious illness
• Targets pain, symptoms and stress caused by illness
• Helps you and your family with complex decision making
• Helps coordinate your care
• Provides and extra layer of support
• Is a partnership between patient, family and providers
• Helps people live as well as they can for as long as they can

What happens when I meet with the team?

We will...

• Work to understand who you are and what is important to you and your family
• Anticipate and discuss what to expect in the days and months ahead of you
• Help you navigate through potential challenges and transitions
• Work together with your treatment team and other consultants to develop a unified treatment plan

Who can benefit from Palliative Care?

• Anyone with a serious, potentially life limiting disease
• Patients and families facing complex medical decisions

Is Palliative Care the same as Hospice?

• No, hospice is a form of Palliative Care for patients with a life expectancy of 6 months or less
• Palliative Care may be started at any point during your illness
• Palliative Care may be provided along with curative treatments

Who is on the Palliative Care team? 

We are a team of physicians, nurses, social workers and chaplains working together to address your physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

For more information on Palliative Care at Pali Momi, please contact you primary care provider. The Pali Momi Palliative Care team can be reached at 808-485-4545.

Straub

Palliative Care at Straub Clinic & Hospital

Palliative care services at Straub include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Continuity of care across clinical settings
• Guidance with difficult treatment choices
• Goals of Care/Advance care planning
• Pain and symptom management
• Spiritual support
• Psychosocial support for patients and families
• Bereavement support for families and care team members of patients

What Is Palliative Care?

Palliative medicine is a medical specialty that focuses on the many ways serious illness affects patients and their families. Sometimes these medical conditions cause ongoing physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering. In such cases, it is important to make a special effort to identify ways to help patients and their families have the best possible quality of life. The palliative care service at Straub hospital is a team of dedicated physicians, nurses, social workers, and chaplains who wish to help patients and families achieve this specific goal.

Is Palliative Care The Same As Hospice Care?

No. Hospice care is meant specifically for those approaching the last stages of life, while palliative care is appropriate for any stage of a serious illness.

Who Can Benefit From The Service Of The Palliative Care Team?

The Palliative Care Team recognizes that there ore often many people in a patient's life who offer special types of support. Parents, children, siblings, extended family, religious leaders, friends, and primary care physicians often provide levels of care that few or no others can. Therefore, it is our goal to provide assistance to them. Palliative care is holistic care, focusing on mind, body, and spiritual aspects of illness. Our team attempts to improve the quality of life for everyone involved in coring for the ill patient:

• The patient themselves-who may be suffering from a serious progressive illness such as cancer, chronic lung disease, heart disease, liver disease, kidney failure, or dementia
• Family members-who may be suffering as well, but who often do not seek assistance for themselves
• Healthcare providers-who sometimes struggle with their own emotions as they grow closer to a patient or family

When Is The Right Time For Palliative Care?

Palliative care helps through all stages of illness. It is best introduced early in your care, and is provided at the same time as curative treatments.

How Will Palliative Care At Straub Hospital Help?

Palliative Care is tailored to the needs of each patient and his or her family. We recognize that the goals of care and quality of life for each patient may change over time. The Palliative Care Team often makes suggestions aimed at providing:

• Therapies and goals of care sensitive to the beliefs and values of you and your family
• Expert treatment of pain
• Relief from distressing symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue, constipation, nausea, loss of appetite and difficulty sleeping
• Close communication and compassionate care
• Guidance with difficult treatment choices
• Emotional and spiritual support for you and your family

Wilcox

Our mission is to improve the lives of seriously ill patients and their families through symptom management and coordinated, compassionate care.

What is Palliative Care?

• Special medical care for people with a serious illness
• Targets pain, symptoms and stress caused by illness
• Helps you and your family with complex decision making
• Helps coordinate your care
• Provides an extra layer of support
• Is a partnership among patient, family and health care providers
• Helps people live as well as they can for as long as they can

Who May Benefit From Palliative Care?

• Anyone with a serious, potentially life limiting illness
• Patients and families facing complex medical decisions

When is the Right Time for Palliative Care?

Palliative care can assist patients throughout all stages of illness. It may be best introduced early in your care and is provided at the same time as curative treatments.

Is Palliative Care the Same as Hospice?

No. Hospice care is meant specifically for those approaching the last stages of life, while palliative care is appropriate for any stage of a serious illness.

How Do I Contact Palliative Care?

Ask your doctor for a referral if you admitted to the hospital and would like Palliative Care service.

What You Can Expect From Palliative Care

The Palliative care service at Wilcox Medical Center offers:

• Assistance in relieving symptoms of medical illness such as pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, constipation and nausea
• Coordination with your medical team to ensure you understand your condition and options for medical care
• Emotional, social and spiritual support

How Palliative Care Can Make a Difference

Recent studies show that patients who receive palliative care experience improved communication with their doctors and family members, enhanced emotional and spiritual well-being, and the lessening of pain and other symptoms.

Working as a Team

Together with your primary medical team, the palliative care service can assist in family/team meetings and offer guidance and support with difficult treatment decisions and goal setting.

The palliative care team includes a:

• Physician
• Nurse
• Social Worker
• Case Manager
• Pharmacist
• Dietitian
• Respiratory Therapist

Also attached is the palliative care brochure. (PDF)