The Palliative Care Team
Your Elara Caring Palliative Care Team
Palliative care utilizes a care team that works with you, your loved ones and your doctors to help match treatment choices to goals. Unlike hospice care, palliative care can be provided along with curative treatment.
Your palliative care team may include a physician, nurse practitioner, social workers and chaplain.
Physician and/or Nurse Practitioners
The palliative care physician or nurse practitioner develops a care plan with the patient’s goals in mind. They focus on alleviating pain and managing symptoms such as nausea, shortness of breath, fatigue and anxiety. Medications and other interventions are used to control symptoms effectively. They will coordinate with the patient’s primary care physician, specialists and other healthcare providers to ensure seamless communication and continuity of care.
Social Workers
Social workers provide emotional support, counseling and coping strategies to patients and families facing the challenges of illness, disability and caregiving. They connect patients and families with community resources, support groups, financial assistance programs and other services to address their social, emotional and practical needs.
Chaplains
Chaplains offer spiritual care, counseling and support. They provide comfort during times of distress or crisis, and they can help facilitate meaningful conversations with patients and families. Chaplains respect and work with individuals of all faiths, including those who don’t identify as religious, to meet their spiritual needs.
