Palliative Care
“Palliative care” is a way of caring for patients who are facing a life-threatening illness. By enhancing patients’ comfort and controlling pain palliative care ensures the highest possible quality of life regardless of the person’s age, stage of disease or need for other therapies. Palliative care is provided in many different settings and professional fields.
Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care partners with Cottage Hospital, Hospice of Santa Barbara, and St Francis Foundation to provide a comprehensive Palliative Care Consult Team for patients who are in the hospital. The team includes specially trained doctors, nurses, social workers and spiritual counselors.
Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care is also partnering with the Cancer Center of Santa Barbara and Hospice of Santa Barbara to provide a Community Palliative Care Program. The mission of this program is to provide palliative care to improve quality of life for those patients and their families who are facing a life threatening illness outside the hospital setting. The Community Palliative Care team consists of a doctor, nurse, and medical social worker specially trained in palliative care. They treat pain and other symptoms, and address patients’ and family members’ emotional and social issues and spiritual concerns. A primary focus of this program is to connect patients and families to community resources, and provide a smooth transition when the patient moves from the hospital to home, or to another care setting.
