Palliative Care
The goal of palliative care is to improve a patient's quality of life. Our team at Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center works with your physician to make you more comfortable by reducing stress levels, easing symptoms and exploring the best options for care. Palliative care is an option for anyone who is seriously ill and whose life is disrupted by symptoms or medical treatments.
Accepting palliative care services does not mean abandoning aggressive treatment, nor should it be confused with end-of-life or hospice care.
Our palliative care team provides the following:
- Education about your medical condition
- Tools to help decide on treatments
- Education about possible medical procedures
- Help managing difficult physical symptoms
- Emotional and spiritual support
- Referrals to ongoing care resources
- Information about Advance Directives
Managing Physical Symptoms
Many chronic and serious diseases or illnesses have symptoms or side effects from treatments that can make you feel sick or uncomfortable. We work with your doctors and nurses to help you manage these symptoms and side effects, including the following:
- Pain
- Nausea/vomiting
- Diarrhea/constipation
- Shortness of breath
- Sleep disruption
- Sadness or discouragement
Emotional and Spiritual Support
It is not uncommon for patients with a serious diagnosis to feel stressed out or anxious, and this can impact your overall health. We help identify your biggest stressors and then take steps to minimize or remove them. These stressors may be financial, social, spiritual, family-related or from a lack of understanding. Once identified, we work with you, your family and your health care team to address them using a variety of means, including:
Contact
Palliative care services are available anytime day or night. A patient most often receives a doctor's order for a palliative care referral. For more information or help getting a referral, call 706-509-5115.
Locations