Comprehensive Palliative Care Program

Palliative Care

• Palliative care strives to keep patients comfortable when cure is not possible.

• Palliative care deals with the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of patients and their families.

• Palliative care views death as a natural part of life.

The Comprehensive Palliative Care Program at UPMC was established to improve the quality of life of patients whose diseases are no longer responsive to curative treatments. The program provides comprehensive, coordinated services to terminally ill patients and their families, with emphasis on relief from pain and other disturbing symptoms;
integration of physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of patient care;
and development of a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death and to help the family cope during the patient’s illness and in bereavement.

The Comprehensive Palliative Care Program is staffed by a nurse practitioner, physician, pharmacist, and psychologist, all with expertise in palliative care, who work closely with primary care providers, social workers, and case managers to coordinate care.

The team works with physicians to manage symptoms such as pain, delirium, fatigue, anorexia, depression, anxiety, and shortness of breath. The program also provides emotional and psychological support for patients and their family members, helps discuss end-of-life issues, and develops appropriate treatments and discharge plans for terminally ill patients.

These services are provided to inpatients at UPMC Montefiore, UPMC Presbyterian, and UPMC Shadyside, and to outpatients through a clinic at UPMC Falk Medical Building.

At UPMC Shadyside, the focus of the Medical Ethics and Palliative Care Program Department is on providing health care professionals and caregivers of patients nearing the end of life with the information and support they need to care for these patients. Services offered include:

• pain and symptom management
• education for residents, nurses, and other health care providers
• assistance for providers and family members in making complicated end-of-life decisions, including the use of medical technology, living wills, and powers of attorney

Palliative care fellowship information