Palliative Care: What It Is and Why It Matters to You 

People often find the term “palliative care” confusing, or they assume it refers to “hospice,” — which is only for people who are dying. Palliative care is for anyone with a serious or life-threatening illness, from time of diagnosis to time of death. Palliative care is an approach to care that reduces stress and pain by improving quality of life for patients and their families based on patient’s needs and wishes for care. It works alongside regular medical care, but treats patients holistically to address unmet physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs. 

A common diagnosis of people receiving palliative care is dementia.  Dementia is a brain disorder characterized by progressive and severe loss of cognitive, physical and autonomic functions as well as changes in mood, behavior, perception, and sleep. It robs people of their ability to carry out activities of daily living and increases their dependence on others for their daily care. 

Currently there is no cure for dementia. Palliative care offers tremendous benefits for patients and their families on their difficult journeys with dementia. 

Palliative care is provided through teams which can include physicians, nurses, social workers, occupational and physical therapists, and chaplains; who work together to “palliate” suffering and stress through early identification, correct assessment, and treatment of dementia symptoms. They also address practical needs, such as help with advance care planning, medical decision making, care transitions, and more. This is critical when someone loses their cognitive ability to understand, make decisions, and communicate their wishes to others. 

Studies have shown that palliative care not only improves health outcomes but reduces unnecessary hospitalization, health system encounters, and associated cost burdens for patients and families living with dementia. 

Many people need palliative care, but a low number actually receive it. To improve and expand palliative care, we need to raise awareness, improve health care policies and funding, provide better access to care for underserved groups, and more training for health care and social services workers. 

Every patient should know that if they receive a dementia diagnosis from their physician and aren’t referred to palliative care, they have the right to request a referral and to be covered by Medicare. Services are covered through Part B for doctor/nurse visits or Part A if provided during a hospital stay; to manage symptoms and improve quality of life. Hospice, a form of palliative care generally recommended when a patient’s prognosis is six months or less, is also covered for dementia. 

 This May is Older Adults Month, take this time to talk about dementia and palliative care in our communities. Let’s work together to ensure that palliative care is available to everyone, regardless of income, age, race, or ethnicity.  

If you want more information or resources on Palliative care, call (408) 350-3200, then press option 1 to be connected to a Community Resource Specialist.