Supportive and palliative care: questions and answers
Supportive and palliative care is not only for patients with a terminal illness. At UI Health Care, our supportive and palliative care team will work with you and your family to help meet your health care goals.
What is supportive and palliative care?
Supportive and palliative care refers to specialized care that provides relief from symptoms and offers comfort and support to patients living with a serious illness — whether it’s curable, chronic, or life-threatening.
For inpatients, supportive and palliative care is provided in the Palliative Care Unit at the medical center on UI Health Care’s university campus. Supportive and palliative care for outpatients is available in the Medicine Specialty Clinics on the university campus.
Who is on the supportive and palliative care team?
Our supportive and palliative care team is an inpatient care team that works with your medical team. Their goal is to improve your quality of life as you face your illness.
- Help you understand your illness and the choices you have
- Support your health care decisions
- Help with pain and other symptoms associated with your serious illness
- Give emotional, social, and spiritual support
- Give comfort
- Help lessen your fears, worries, and grief
- Protect your dignity
- Focus on your and your family’s goals
- Doctors
- Nurses and nurse practitioners
- Pharmacists
- Social workers
- Music therapists
- Chaplains (such as a priest or pastor)
- Volunteers
Who can use supportive and palliative care?
Any adult inpatient with a serious illness or who has symptoms that cannot be treated or controlled.
What is the Supportive and Palliative Care Unit?
The inpatient unit at UI Health Care’s university campus provides a quiet, home-like setting with space for your family and friends in your room.
The unit staff can help you and your family plan for the future. They can also help with making memories such as memory journals, pictures, and other activities.
How may I receive supportive and palliative care?
The Supportive and Palliative Care Unit only accepts referrals from internal providers. You will need a referral from your UI Health Care doctor to receive supportive and palliative care. Here are some helpful tips:
- Tell your UI Health Care doctor or care team that you are thinking about supportive and palliative care and would like to talk about your future plans. You can do this even if you feel fine or if it is early in your illness.
- Ask your UI Health Care doctor to explain your illness and any past, current, or future treatments. Tell your doctor if you do or do not want a specific treatment.
- Tell your UI Health Care doctor what quality of life means to you — for example, spending time with your family, getting help to manage pain associated with your serious illness, and whether you prefer to get care at home or in the hospital.