About the Palliative Care Program at
Newark Beth Israel Medical
Center
Palliative care is medical care that is focused on alleviating
the physical, psychosocial, emotional and spiritual suffering of
patients and families at any stage of a serious illness. Unlike
hospice care, which is specifically for those approaching the end
of life and for whom curative treatments are no longer indicated,
palliative care is based on patient and family needs and may be
complementary to ongoing disease-directed therapy. Our skilled
and compassionate team is trained to help patients through the
disease process, prognosis and treatment options, and offer guidance
when difficult choices need to be made amidst uncertainty.
 Our palliative care experts can help patients and families navigate
through the health care system to maximize symptom control, functional
status and quality of life. When difficult decisions must be made,
our professionals can facilitate communication between the patient,
family and health care team to help clarify goals of care. Working
closely with the primary care physician, our objective is to reduce
suffering of patients and families at times of serious illness.
Palliative care is appropriate for anyone diagnosed with a progressive,
chronic, or critical illness. Our team can assist you at any stage
of an illness, and, if introduced early, can help prevent and ease
suffering. Your primary care physician may recommend palliative
care but you may also request it at any point if you feel it would
be beneficial.
Providing Optimal Comfort
The mission of the Palliative Care Program is to assure that each
patient’s symptoms are managed as well as possible, providing
optimal comfort and function. To achieve this, our experts work
as a team with other health care professionals to provide pain
relief through traditional and non-traditional approaches.
Patients can expect relief from distressing symptoms such as pain,
nausea and vomiting, anxiety, delirium, agitation, shortness of
breath, constipation, depression, or difficulty sleeping. With
help from the Palliative Care team, patients experience increased
comfort leading to improved quality of life. Support for the family
during illness is paramount to the goals of the Palliative Care
Program.
Request a Consultation
A palliative care consultation with our team can be provided at
anytime during a patient’s disease upon your request. In
addition to providing symptom management, we can assist families
with complex health care decisions, family conflicts and difficulties
in coping with illness. A palliative care consultation at Newark
Beth Israel Medical Center can be arranged by your primary care
doctor, a nurse on the unit, or by calling the Palliative Care
Program directly at 973.926.3636.
We hope you will call on us to assist with progressive, chronic,
critical or life-threatening illness. Our supportive team can help
patients and families by providing compassionate care to relieve
physical, psychosocial, emotional and spiritual suffering at times
of greatest need. We are here to help and welcome questions from
patients, family members and physicians.
To schedule a consultation or to learn more about the Palliative
Care Program at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, please call
973.926.3636
http://www.getpalliativecare.org/
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