Palliative Care and Hospice

Hospice and Palliative Care: A Philosophy of Compassionate Care
Palliative care is an interdisciplinary approach to healthcare that recognizes the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of illness. Interdisciplinary teams of healthcare professionals serve patients and families to address suffering at various levels: mind, body, and spirit. Hospice is a form of palliative care reserved for those deemed terminal with less than six months to live. To schedule this presentation, contact Jane Barton at (303) 398-6230 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Taking the Pulse of Palliative Care
Palliative care is an appealing philosophical approach to healthcare. Who could find fault with comprehensive, coordinated, compassionate care? The challenge arises when trying to implement this philosophy within the context of healthcare and insurance systems designed to support and to reimburse curative practices.

In order to overcome the daunting challenges confronting palliative care today, we must first understand and appreciate how attitudes toward death and dying inform and influence policy, practice, and accessibility of care. A historical perspective of end-of-life care is also critically important when attempting to chart the future course of palliative care. Furthermore, we must design systems and approaches to meet the growing needs of our aging population.

It is sobering to realize that the challenges noted by Dr. Diane Meier in 2010 are the same challenges noted by Dr. Balfour Mount in 1985 when considering the future of palliative care: attitudes regarding end-of-life care, accessibility of palliative care services, recruitment of qualified staff, and funding and reimbursement of palliative care services. Palliative care is an approach to healthcare that is needed and wanted by society. Our challenge is to integrate the palliative care philosophy into our current system of care such that palliative care becomes the standard of care, a best practice that serves the individual and our society well. To schedule this presentation, contact Jane Barton at (303) 398-6230 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .