Archer Health Palliative Care

What is palliative care and what services does it provide?

We have an injury, get an infection, catch the flu. We take our medicine, go to therapy, get lots of rest, and get better. The focus is on the problem and we, along with the healthcare professionals, come up with solutions to treat the dis-ease. Because we are more than the injury or disease, we need another level of care – especially when the problem is serious. Palliative care fits together with acute curative care and increases in its scope as the disease or illness progresses.

It is the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial, and spiritual.” The principles of palliative care should be applied as early as possible to any chronic or serious health issue.

Palliative care is individualized and patient-centered. It is, in fact, the basis of quality patient care

Palliative care is a healthcare specialty that is both a philosophy of care and an organized, structured system for delivering care. It has been shown to improve health care quality in three domains:

1. The relief of physical and emotional suffering.
2. Improvement and strengthening of the process of patient-provider communication and decision-making.
3. Assurance of coordinated continuity of care across multiple healthcare settings – hospital, home, hospice, and long-term care.

How does someone qualify for palliative care services?

ANY Archer Health patient accepted for skilled home health service can also receive palliative care. Palliative care is provided along with skilled services at no additional cost.

Some health conditions further meet the need for additional palliative care:

• Congestive Heart Failure
• Malignant Disease
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
• Liver or Pancreatic Disease
• Cardiomyopathy
• Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
• Progressive Neurological Disorders/Dementias

People with any of the following health issues can benefit from palliative care services:

• One or more hospital or nursing home stays in the prior 12 months
• One or more serious illnesses
• Functional and/or cognitive impairment
• Exhausted and overburdened family caregivers
• Poorly controlled symptoms
• Frequent visits to the emergency room
• One or more hospital admissions in the past 30 days
• Prolonged hospitalization and/or a prolonged ICU stay