Treatments & Services

Palliative Care

• Overview
• The Palliative Care Team
• Integrative Therapies
• Resources

The Palliative Care Team

Boone Hospital Center's palliative care team helps care for patients and families living with incurable or terminal illness. It is composed of a two-person consultation team, as well as a larger multidisciplinary group. The consultation team consists of a physician who is board-certified in hospice and palliative care, and a registered nurse who has specialized training in end-of-life issues. The multidisciplinary group includes a hospital chaplain, social worker, nurses, physical and occupation therapists, formally trained integrative therapy staff, a registered dietitian, pharmacist, respiratory therapist, anesthesia, hospice, and administration. All our team members have a special interest in palliative care and have had additional education in this area.

What Does the Team Do?

The palliative care team can help patients and their families in a variety of ways. Working with the patient's primary care physician, the team manages pain and other distressing symptoms through the use of medications and other therapies, provides emotional and psychological support, helps discuss end-of life issues, and develops treatment and discharge plans for chronically and terminally ill patients. Our consultation team visits patients and families daily from Monday through Friday. Social work, chaplaincy and other team members assist in the patient and family's care as needed to best meet their needs. Many palliative care patients return home with support from home health or hospice. A hospice nurse can visit the patient and family in the hospital, to help ensure a smooth transition to the home setting.

How is the Team Consulted?

Services of the palliative care team are available for inpatients at Boone Hospital Center who have severe chronic or terminal illness. A primary doctor's order is needed to consult the team. Our palliative care physician can assume full responsibility for management of the patient, or may serve as a consultant to the patient's primary doctor. The patient and family should be aware of the terminal or chronic nature of the illness, and should agree with the plan for supportive or palliative care.

Who Can I Contact?

To learn more about Boone Hospital Center's Palliative Care program, contact our palliative care coordinator, or the coordinator can be paged through Boone Hospital's main switchboard at 573-815-8000, or reached via phone mail at 573-815-6087.

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