Palliative & Supportive Care
Providing the Compassion & Resources you Need
Palliative and supportive care are specialized forms of medical care designed to improve quality of life for people with serious illness. It encompasses pain and symptom management; counseling for patients and families; support for patients making decisions about their treatment and goals of care; and care coordination among other services.
Palliative care is provided by a palliative care specialist in collaboration with a patient’s other doctors to provide an extra layer of support. It is appropriate at any age and at any stage of a serious illness and can be provided together with curative treatment.
The palliative care team at Touro helps patients and families with:
- Advanced care planning
- Discussing goals for care
- Code status clarification
- Hospice referral/evaluation
- Symptom management
- Illness trajectory education
- Withdrawal of life prolonging treatments
Palliative care can assist through all stages of serious illness. It is best introduced early in a patient’s care and is provided at the same time as curative treatments.
For more information about Palliative Care Services at Touro, please contact
Melissa Pennebaker, NP
Phone:
504.897.7014
Email:
melissa.pennebaker@lcmchealth.org