Palliative Care

What is Palliative Care?

Palliative care is specialized medical care that focuses on quality of life throughout the course of a serious illness. It is appropriate at any stage of a serious illness and can be provided along with curative treatment and home health services.

General Admission Criteria:

1. Serious illness such as advanced lung disease, cardiac, renal, hepatic disease, advanced dementia, advanced cancer, sudden acute event (CVA)
2. Frequent ER and hospital admissions
3. Pain and symptom management issues
4. Need for goals of care and advance care planning

Getting started with Palliative care:

1. Referral from primary care physician
2. Referral from hospital upon patient discharge 

Services:

1. NP will come to the home or ALF to monitor patient and focus on symptom management related to their serious illness
2. NP on call 24/7 for problems or questions
3. NP will assist with GOC and advance care planning

Inpatient Palliative Services – NP provides Palliative care to patients while they are hospitalized (same phone, fax and address)

How do you order inpatient Palliative services?

1. The MD that is seeing the patient will put in an order for a Palliative consult
2. The case manager will receive a trigger that patient is appropriate for Palliative services and she will notify the doctor for an order
3. Nursing can reach out to the MD for a Palliative order

The inpatient Palliative NP can assist with any symptom management, GOC, and advance care planning conversations. The NP will facilitate family meetings when necessary to discuss GOC.

Patient can transition from the inpatient Palliative services to outpatient Palliative services at their home or any ALF’s.

Both inpatient and outpatient Palliative services are managed and directed by a hospice trained physician to manage and control symptoms.

Highpoint Palliative Care
300 Steam Plant Rd, Suite 235
Gallatin, TN 37066 
P: 615-206-3079 
F: 615-206-3093 
M-F 8 AM - 4:30 PM