Palliative Care

Palliative Care

Palliative Care is for anybody at any age who has a chronic or severe illness – whereas hospice is for those who are terminally ill and it has been determined that their death will occur within a 6-month period. Unfortunately there are no Hospice services available in Todos Santos and surrounding area. Palliative care is specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness. With palliative care there are no time restrictions, and some insurance policies do cover it. As an Expat in Mexico, though, you should check with your insurance provider. Anyone at any age can receive Palliative Care if they want and need comfort at any stage of a disease, whether terminal or chronic.

Even though the focus is pain and symptom relief, Palliative care can also include physical therapy, nutritional guidance and family counselling. It remains an issue, though, that in Mexico it is not easy to obtain certain drugs to be administered outside of a hospital. Plans are underway, though, to make it easier for physicians to obtain the necessary drugs, and for pharmacies outside of capital cities to fill the prescriptions.

Palliative care sees the person beyond the disease. It is a fundamental shift in health care delivery.  This type of care is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of the illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family.

Palliative care is provided by a specially-trained team of doctors, nurses and other specialists who work together with a patient’s other doctors to provide an extra layer of support. Palliative care is based on the needs of the patient, not on the patient’s prognosis. It is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness, and it can be provided along with curative treatment.

Palliative care specialists improve quality of life for the patients whose needs are most complex. Working in partnership with the primary physician, the palliative care team provides:

  • Time to devote to intensive family meetings and patient/family counselling
  • Skilled communication about what to expect in the future in order to ensure that care is matched to the goals and priorities of the patient and the family
  • Expert management of complex physical and emotional symptoms, including complex pain, depression, anxiety, fatigue, shortness of breath, constipation, nausea, loss of appetite, and difficulty sleeping
  • Coordination and communication of care plans among all providers and across all settings.

Our Comfort Care members are trained to help in various ways when needed…such as post surgery assistance, driving to doctors appointments or to help with meals, errands and pet care.

 

 

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