Palliative Care
The Palliative Care Service at Boston Medical Center is an interdisciplinary service that will help you and your family live as well as you can when facing a serious or life-threatening illness. Our team will work collaboratively with you and your primary care provider, hospital specialists, nurses, chaplains and social worker at any stage of your illness; while you are receiving curative or life-prolonging treatments or if you are seriously ill.
Palliative care focuses special attention to the physical, psychological, and spiritual needs of patients and their loved ones who are living with life-threatening illnesses. Palliative treatments focus on bringing pain and other burdensome symptoms (nausea, shortness of breath, fatigue, etc.) under control to maximize your quality of life.
Our Services
Illness can cause many symptoms including pain, shortness of breath, fatigue, constipation, nausea, weight loss, anxiety, sleep problems, and much more.
Palliative care can provide many services including:
Help with symptom relief
Help with understanding what to expect over the course of illness
If needed, help planning and making decisions for the unexpected for you and your family
Strong medical and emotional support through all stages of illness
Begin Palliative Care Early
Palliative care can occur at the same time as other treatments for an illness. There’s no reason to wait. In fact, studies have shown that palliative care may extend life. Pain and other symptoms affect quality of life, and stress can have a big impact on you and your loved ones. The palliative care team can help.
Request Palliative Care
Speak with your inpatient providers about receiving palliative care services while staying at BMC. The palliative care providers then become a part of your health care team – they do not replace existing providers.
The inpatient team can see all patients who are currently admitted in the hospital, regardless of insurance. They can then work with you and your family to see what other supportive care options are available post-discharge.
Ask your nurse to put in a request for you to see a member of the palliative care team.
We will make every effort to fulfill the request prior to discharge.
