Palliative Care Support at HCS
The Palliative Care Conversation brings compassionate listening, support, and clarification of needs and wishes – right in the comfort of your home.
Palliative Care is an approach to care that focuses on relief from symptoms, pain, and stressors – whatever the stage of the illness.
What is Palliative Care?
Palliative Care Support at HCS is an extra layer of support that can be offered to our patients while receiving home-based visiting nurse or rehabilitative services. As this layer of support is provided within skilled home care services, it is short term in nature. Palliative Care Support at HCS is a person-centered, Social Work-led service that prioritizes your needs, concerns, and wishes for your best quality of life. Support includes:
- Palliative Care Conversations in which we get to know you and your goals
- Evaluation of pain and discomfort
- Support navigating the healthcare system, understanding options and resources, and coping with your situation
- Guidance in weighing and making choices – both practical and complex
- Assistance around any area of stress impacting your quality of life
Do I qualify for Palliative Care Support?
Palliative Care Support at HCS is available to patients receiving HCS home-based visiting nurse or rehabilitation services. Palliative Care at HCS requires a physician order and may be covered under insurance. Patients without insurance may be eligible for a grant-funded Palliative Care Social Work visit.
Palliative Care is not Hospice Care…
Many people hear ‘Palliative’ and think it refers to end of life. This is not at all the case – though there are patients who receive Palliative Care and may indeed move on to Hospice Care. While Hospice Care is a distinct program for people facing terminal conditions and no longer seeking curative treatment, Palliative Care is an approach to care that can complement ongoing treatment or specialty medicine. Think of it as an extra layer of support for people facing serious health conditions, complex care decisions, and adjustments to their lives and the lives of their loved ones.
People may consult with and benefit from Palliative Care on and off throughout the course of their illness. Optimal quality of life is the goal.
STAFF HIGHLIGHTS
Evelyn Erb, LMSW, APHSW-C – Supervisor of Social Work and Hospice Support Programs
Evelyn has been with HCS for 14 years, directly supporting patients and families and managing the Medical, Hospice, and Palliative Social Work service teams. She is credentialled as a Certified Advanced Palliative and Hospice Social Worker. In addition to serving as the agency’s Palliative Care Social Worker lead, Evelyn is trained in Advance Care Planning facilitation (Advance Directives; Do Not Resuscitate/DNR; and Provider Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment/POLST) and as a Spiritual Care Generalist. She is a passionate leader of the Hospice Team’s core and healing arts staff, including Bereavement, Massage, Music Practice, Spiritual Care and Volunteers.
In bridging across the VNA/Palliative and Hospice programs, Evelyn serves patients at crossroads in their lives, assisting to navigate difficult decisions and a complex health care system. She has found that some of the most significant palliative comfort comes from truly listening to the patient’s story, connecting compassionately, facilitating clarity and understanding, and supporting any and all degrees of control or organization over their lives and plans.
Vanessa Sheehan, RN, BSN, CHPN – Associate Director of Hospice at HCS
Vanessa has been with HCS for 20 years. Her passion for supporting patients and caregivers began with her work as a Homemaker and has continued all the way to her current role as Associate Director of Hospice at HCS. Vanessa believes that a calming and supportive approach and the recognition of patient self-direction is the best way to forge a connection. Her attention to the patient’s medical situation as well as their overall life circumstances allows for a true Palliative approach to understanding needs and wishes. As a nurse leader, Vanessa works to identify patients who may benefit from additional attention to symptom management, side effect monitoring, pain and discomfort, and she guides care planning for clinicians in these cases.