End of Life Care

Living with a serious or life-threatening illness can feel like a blur of hospitalizations and emergency room visits. End of Life care at home reduces this strain by bringing many treatments to you.

Our End of Life care specialists come to your home – wherever you call home – to help manage symptoms, provide education, coordinate transitions of care in collaboration with your primary care provider, and establish your individualized goals of care. We’ll help you get the right care at the right time based on your treatment goals.

Anyone with a serious illness may receive End of Life care services. To get started, you’ll need a referral and order from your doctor. Care begins with an assessment, so we can understand your needs and create a plan tailored to you. End of Life services are often covered by Medicare and other insurance plans.

There are various types of End of Life care. Depending on your needs, you may receive:

• Help establishing personalized goals of care
• A holistic approach to care that addresses the physical, social, emotional, and spiritual needs of each patient and family
• Coordination of care with your primary care or consulting physicians based on your goals of treatment
• Coordination of transitions of care between different care settings
• Medications for pain relief and management of other symptoms
• Self-care tools for coping with stress and anxiety
• Education about disease processes and treatment options
• Help for loved ones troubleshooting caregiving demands and pressures
• Social support to help you organize family meetings, discuss goals and find helpful resources in your community

End of Life treatment is available wherever you call home, whether that’s a private residence, hospital, nursing home or other facility.

When a patient is facing a serious disease, their needs often range from medical to social, spiritual and emotional. That’s why we take a holistic approach that addresses these areas. You’ll work with a multidisciplinary End of Life care team that may include a medical director and nurse practitioners, with social work support.

You can receive End of Life treatment any time during a serious illness, from diagnosis on. You can continue with treatments, including those intended to cure your illness, and see your regular doctor while receiving End of Life care.

End of Life care at home can help people with any serious illness, including:

• Heart disease
• Cancer
• Respiratory illness
• Kidney disease
• Parkinson’s disease
• End-stage organ failure (frequently of the heart, kidneys or liver)
• Stroke
• Multiple sclerosis
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
• Dementia/Alzheimer’s disease

When is the right time for End of Life care? You may want to consider End of Life treatment if you:

• Have been newly diagnosed with a chronic or serious illness or there has been a change in your clinical course
• Need help understanding your condition or are struggling to accept your diagnosis
• Want to continue treatments to cure your illness while maintaining your quality of life
• Have frequent hospitalizations or trips to the emergency room
• Need help managing pain and symptoms
• Struggle to visit your doctor or miss important appointments
• Need help understanding your treatment options and/or doing advance care planning
• Are nearing the end of life but either aren’t eligible for hospice or aren’t interested in that type of care

Many patients and families feel overwhelmed when considering their care options. We can help you decide if End of Life treatment is the right choice for you or your loved one. 

What is the goal of End of Life care? The goal of End of Life care is to provide patient-centered, family-focused care to improve patients’ quality of life. For many patients, this means alleviating pain and other symptoms that often come with serious illnesses. It can also include meeting your emotional, social and spiritual needs and helping you and your caregiver navigate treatment options. We help patients feel as safe and comfortable as possible, so they can focus on making the most of their daily life.

Symptoms that often improve with End of Life care include:

• Pain
• Nausea or vomiting
• Anxiety, depression or sadness
• Constipation or diarrhea
• Breathing difficulties
• Trouble sleeping
• Fatigue
• Confusion
• Loss of appetite

The goals of End of Life care are similar to hospice, but the two types of care differ in important ways. 

Our End of Life care program helps both patients and their families. Loved ones learn about the patient’s disease process and treatment options. This can make difficult decisions a bit easier and ease the stress of caregiving.

For patients, some of the benefits of End of Life care often include:

• Relief of pain and difficult symptoms
• Better quality of life
• An established plan of care based on your individualized goals of care
• Ability to focus on time with loved ones
• Fewer hospitalizations (meaning less stress, lower costs and more rest)
• More independence
• Communication and collaboration with the patient’s healthcare team
• Safe, seamless transitions between care settings
• Support for social and emotional needs
• An added layer of medical support from experienced professionals including a board-certified medical director with End of Life care expertise

Patients do not have to be at the end of their life to begin receiving End of Life care at home. In fact, starting care during the earlier stages of an illness can be the most beneficial.