The Difference Between Palliative Care and End of Life Care in Home

Visiting Angels of Gilford Offers Palliative and End of Life Care at Home

While palliative care and end-of-life care hold many similarities, they are not always the same. The two types of care have different benefits, methods, and goals. 

Palliative care focuses on the overall well-being of a patient. It is an all-encompassing type of care that provides comfort to those fighting an illness at any stage. It is often used alongside a more aggressive treatment to provide comfort and relief for the disease’s symptoms and side effects. Cancer patients, for example, may receive a recommendation for palliative care to work in tandem with chemotherapy or radiation because both of those cancer treatments can take a significant toll on the patient’s body. Palliative care is available to patients in many settings, such as hospitals, homes, and assisted living facilities. In palliative care, a team of doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals work together toward improving the overall health and comfort of the patient. 

While palliative care is offered to people of all ages and at all stages of an illness, end-of-life care is provided to those whose conditions are terminal and who are in their final days, weeks, or months of life. End-of-life care is provided to patients who have received all possible treatment for their illness. Its goal is to make them comfortable and content throughout their final days of life. A team of healthcare workers, social workers, and even religious clergy are usually end-of-life care providers. 

End-of-life care at home provides several services to those who are nearing the end of their lives. Some of these services are:

• Physical comfort
• Mental and emotional support (for both the patient and their family)
• Daily living such as housekeeping or running errands.
• Assistance with getting personal affairs in order such as legal and financial matters
• Spiritual support

We recommend that families have a conversation with their loved ones concerning their end-of-life wishes before their condition continues to deteriorate. There are two reasons for this. The first reason is that doing so helps to ensure that the patient is clearly thinking when expressing their wishes to their loved ones. The second reason is that, if the conversation is had early-on, the family will have time to research and plan for the patient’s final days, including care at home. The research includes being prepared for end-of-life care, funeral, and burial wishes and sorting out legal, financial, and other personal matters. 

If you or someone you know wants to learn more about Visiting Angels and how we provide care at home, please contact the agency nearest to you or call 603-366-1993.