Palliative Care

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Palliative Care Program

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Care Beyond Cure

"Palliative care aims to relieve suffering and improve quality of life for patients with advanced illness, and their families. Palliative care is provided by an interdisciplinary team and offered in conjunction with all other appropriate forms of medical treatment." --Center to Advance Palliative Care.

Saint Francis Memorial Hospital has developed a Palliative Care Program to address the needs of patients suffering from chronic or terminal illness when control of pain or other symptoms--psychological, social, or spiritual--interfere with the achievement of the best quality of life for patients and their families.

From diagnosis to the end of life, the Palliative Care Team--which consists of physicians, nurses, chaplains, social workers and other clinicians--works with patients and their loved ones to help them understand their prognoses. Through advanced care planning the patient and family are assisted in determining what interventions and medical care they desire, including completion of Advance Directives. In addition, patient and families are educated about the disease process and options for care after hospitalization.

Saint Francis Memorial has a certified palliative care nurse who will coordinate the plan of care from hospitalization to home. The nurse develops a trusting relationship with the patient and family, and is dedicated to providing information throughout the course of treatment and the dying process.

Advanced Directives

Although each situation is unique and life decisions are never easy, we encourage you to consider some very important questions now, before you are faced with what may be a very difficult decision.

What will happen if you find yourself, or a loved one, with a chronic or terminal disease that fills every day living with pain and suffering?
What are your options for treatment or life support?
If your heart or breathing stops, do you want to be resuscitated? (i.e., have efforts made to restart your heart or breathe for you artificially?)If a loved one should be in this situation, what would he/she choose?
Does the attending physician know your wishes?
What can you do in advance to assure that your wishes are carried out in the event that you are not able to make your own decision?

Documenting Your Choices in Advance

Patients are usually able to make informed, deliberate choices about their own treatment. These choices can be expressed in advance, before you are unable to express your wishes due to progression of an illness or other unanticipated problems. There are three advance directive documents available to convey those choices:

Advance Health Care Directive: States your desires and appoints an individual to make decisions concerning health care when you are no longer able to make them for yourself. This document is legally binding, both on the person appointed as Attorney in Fact and upon your physician.
Natural Death Act Declaration: Allows you to provide general guidelines regarding the extent of your health care. It can be used in the event you become incapable of making decisions. This document, part of the California Natural Death Act, directs physicians not to continue treatment. It is legally binding on your physician.
Living Will: This document allows you to provide general guidelines regarding the extent of your health care; it will be used if you become incapable of making decisions. It is regarded as an expression of your choices; however, it is not a legally binding document in the state of California. Contact your chaplain, case manager, discharge planner or social worker to find out where you may acquire this form.

Ethical Questions and Concerns

Conflicts that may arise regarding decision-making surrounding health care and treatment may be referred to the Bioethics or Ethics Committee. Please notify your physician, nurse, case manager, or patient relations representative to initiate the process.

For more information about Saint Francis Memorial's Palliative Care Program, please call 415-353-6856 or 415-353-6180. The Palliative Care office is located in room 403 in Saint Francis Memorial Hospital. Hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.

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Additional Information

Advanced Directive Form

www.hospicenet.org

End-of-Life Planning