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Palliative Care
“Palliative care is the science of taking care of people who can’t be cured, but are living with an illness that may become terminal. Hospice concerns itself with people who may die in six months, but palliative care doesn’t have a time frame.”
Madeline “Meg” Gerken, MD,
Hospice Medical Director of
Rockingham Visiting Nurse
Association & Hospice
(pictured at right)
Dr. Gerken is a Medical Oncologist as well as a Certified Palliative Care Physician, one of only a handful in the state of New Hampshire.
Palliative Care focuses on treating the whole person, not the illness. A multidisciplinary team approach is utilized to treat the pain, symptoms and stress that may accompany serious illness. Care may encompass nutritional counseling, nursing, home health aides, pharmacists, spiritual care providers, physicians, social workers, physical therapists, and volunteers.
In addition to the Hospice Program, a specialized program of Rockingham Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice - the Bridge Program -emphasizes Palliative Care in addressing the many ways that serious illness affects patients and their families.
The Bridge Program
The Bridge Program, offered through the Home Care division of Rockingham Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice, utilizes the Hospice Team to furnish a comprehensive, medically-directed interdisciplinary team of professionals to support and care for patients and their families with progressive disease and symptom control needs. Care is provided in the patient’s home, using the principles of palliative care to treat the patient as a whole, while offering necessary support to family members and caregivers.
The Bridge Program extends the principles of hospice care to a broader population that could benefit from receiving this type of care and support earlier in their disease process, addressing the special needs of individuals with life-limiting illness who may not be ready and/or eligible for Hospice services.
Participating in the Bridge Program allows patients and their families a smooth transition from acute home care to hospice care, when appropriate, since the care providers remain unchanged.
The basic elements of the Bridge Program include:
- Care of the patient and family
- Reducing or controlling pain and debilitating symptoms such as nausea, fatigue or anxiety
- 24 hour on-call availability
- Skilled Nursing care
- Social Work services, including counseling patients and families when making medical decisions becomes difficult
- Physical, Occupational, and Speech Therapy
- Coordination of care needs
- Counseling and Spiritual Care: listening and providing support through all stages of illness
For more information about Palliative Care or the Bridge Program of Rockingham Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice, please call us at 1-800-540-2981.
Helpful Link:
National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization
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