MHH Palliative and Supportive Care Consult Service

Palliative Medicine is both a philosophy of care and an organized, highly structured system for delivering care. Palliative Medicine aims to prevent and relieve suffering and support the best possible quality of life for patients facing life-threatening or debilitating illnesses. The Palliative Care Service is a consulting service that evaluates and treats patients requiring palliative care, pain management, and/or hospice services. Palliative specialists aid the patient and family through difficult decision-making associated with end-of-life issues.

Palliative care includes non-pharmacological and pharmacological management of difficult-to-treat symptom complexes to maintain the patient’s treatment goals and quality of life.

Common Symptom Complexes in Palliative Medicine:

• Pain
• Shortness of Breath
• Constipation
• Chronic Nausea
• Delirium
• Anxiety/Depression
• Fatigue

The Palliative Care consult service at MHH-TMC is staffed by a multi-disciplinary team, including a Chaplain, Social Worker, and Counselor. Drs. Ana Leech, Angelique Wong, Caroline Ha, Rex Paulino, Soraira Pacheco, Jeffery Fox, PA-C, and Linsey Scherrer, PA-C are the Palliative care providers.