Palliative Care Blog

Non-Pharmacological Symptom Management: A Palliative Social Worker’s Intervention

By Jennifer Hopping-Winn, MSW, LCSW

Palliative care patients tend to have a high symptom burden. Sometimes, this is characterized as mild and for others it is severe, creating a breeding ground for suffering to occur. Physicians, nurse practitioners and nurses offer patients a variety of medications that can mitigate and relieve symptoms common in serious illness such as pain, anxiety, and shortness of breath, to name a few.

These interventions, however, are sometimes insufficient in addressing the whole of the symptom. Thankfully, medications can be augmented by non-pharmacological symptom management techniques that may be able to produce an even better response.

[Read more…]

What a Pediatric Chaplain Has Learned about Spiritual Needs from Seriously Ill Children and Their Families

Chaplain Mark Bartel, MDiv, BCC, Shares Truths from his Work in Palliative Care

By Melanie Marshall

Even the people closest to Mark Bartel have a hard time understanding how he handles the heartbreak that comes with being a pediatric chaplain.

When he first entered the field, his wife worried how it might affect him and whether sadness would follow him home. His older brother put it more bluntly: “I know you’re doing important work, but I don’t ever want to hear about it. Don’t tell me anything.”

Now almost 30 years into his career, Bartel—who manages Spiritual Care at Arnold Palmer Medical Center in Orlando—has mastered the art of selective sharing. He’s seen plenty of happy endings, but arguably his most poignant cases are linked to his work in palliative care, supporting seriously ill or dying children and their families, as well as hospital colleagues caring for them.

[Read more…]

House Passes Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act

Groundbreaking legislation designed to make palliative care and end-of-life care more accessible to patients and families by supporting outreach and enhanced education for healthcare professionals was passed this week by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bill—known as the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA)—had broad bipartisan support and was passed by a voice vote on Monday. Healthcare advocates and educators rejoiced at the news.

[Read more…]