Palliative care: providing compassion in the face of life-limiting illness

Doctors spend a lot of time in medical school learning about the human body and various illnesses. However, they don’t spend a lot of time learning how to talk to people about life and death.

“Death is not a medical problem to be solved. It’s a spiritual problem to be faced,” Robert L. Fine, M.D., clinical director for the Office of Clinical Ethics and Palliative Care at Baylor Scott & White Health, reminded attendees at the most recent Baylor Health Care System Foundation board meeting.

During the meeting, Dr. Fine led a discussion about how to best achieve your goals and manage your fears when facing end-of-life or life-limiting illnesses. He also provided an overview of the supportive and palliative care team at Baylor Scott & White, and explained how they go beyond advanced medical treatments and o er compassionate care to help patients and their families cope when faced with life’s last chapter. He stressed the importance of an interdisciplinary team of physicians, nurse practitioners, chaplains, child life specialists and social workers, who work collaboratively to provide these services across the system.

In addition to regular medical treatment, supportive and palliative care team members help determine a care plan that meets the patient’s wants and needs, including management of pain and other symptoms, counseling and spiritual support, and other therapies.

“End-of-life issues are complicated and delicate matters,” said Rowland K. Robinson, Foundation president. “In its simplest explanation, Dr. Fine and his team treat suffering in all forms, including physical, emotional, social and spiritual.”

Rowland and Dr. Fine tackled the difficult topic by talking through sample patient scenarios and how Dr. Fine would address and utilize palliative care for each. From a 40-year-old father of three facing advanced, metastatic cancer, to a woman in her 90s with end-stage Alzheimer’s and congestive heart failure, Dr. Fine shared how they must take into account the different fears and goals of each patient when determining appropriate care. In addition, he stressed the importance of the “timing of the discussion,” and the need to have more frequent, better and earlier conversations, fostering more patient- centered care than might otherwise occur.

The Baylor Scott & White Supportive and Palliative Care program is recognized as a pioneer and has been nationally recognized by the American Hospital Association. In addition, Baylor University Medical Center, part of Baylor Scott & White Health, was the first program in Texas – and one of the first 10 in the nation – to receive The Joint Commission’s Advanced Palliative Care Certification.

Supportive and palliative care services are 100% philanthropically funded.

For information on how you can support this program, contact Lynn Bohne at 214.820.4070 or Lynn.Bohne@BSWHealth.org.