Palliative Care
Cascade Health’s Palliative Care focuses on managing pain and other symptoms of serious illnesses to improve quality of life for the long-term.
Palliative Care is specialized medical care for people who have a life-limiting illness
Palliative Care Offers Comfort
Cascade Health is devoted to providing Palliative Care that reflects each patient’s unique set of circumstances, beliefs and physical needs. Our experienced team of clinicians, nurses and other specialists work closely with everyone involved in your care to identify areas that can be improved to make your life better and implement a plan to achieve your goals. We provide care to the Eugene and Springfield, Oregon area.
Palliative Care focuses on managing pain and other symptoms of serious illnesses to improve quality of life for the long-term. Palliative Care is appropriate for anyone with a serious illness — it is not restricted to those with a terminal disease.
Facts About Palliative Care
✅ Palliative Care helps you manage symptoms and improve your comfort — regardless of disease, stage, prognosis, age or where you receive health care services.
✅ You can get Palliative Care at any age, any stage in your illness and for conditions that are chronic or acute. It is best when Palliative Care is started early.
✅ Palliative Care does not take the place of other medical care, though it may help you stabilize your condition, manage care and catch new issues earlier.
✅ Palliative Care does not replace curative care, and you may continue life-prolonging interventions—like chemotherapy for cancer.
✅ You do not stop seeing a doctor when you receive Palliative Care: it is an additional layer of support.
✅ Palliative Care is typically provided at home, with family, in a retirement community or in other facilities. You can continue accessing care while receiving acute treatment in a hospital, rehabilitation facility or other specialized clinics.
Palliative Care is not based on prognosis. It is based on the need for help managing a serious illness. Anyone with a life expectancy of more than six months who is diagnosed with a serious illness is a candidate for Palliative Care. Some examples of “serious illness” include COPD, heart failure, progressive renal disease, liver disease, ALS, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s or cancer. Age, stage and life expectancy are not determining factors for Palliative Care.
When to Consider Palliative Care
Other factors that might prompt Palliative Care include:
You have symptoms that are difficult to control and negatively impact quality of life and/or function, such as pain, nausea, fatigue, sleep problems, depression, anxiety, weight loss and others.
Your functional or cognitive ability is declining.
You’ve been hospitalized multiple times or had repeated visits for the same issues.
You’re uncertain about your prognosis or goals of care.
You or your family is under emotional or spiritual distress.
You or your family are confused about your care plan or have conflicting requests for care.
You do not have an advanced care plan.
You require complex treatments or those requiring training for you or your caregivers, such as tube feeding or TPN.
You or your loved one experience chronic mental illness, homelessness or other indications of limited social support or exacerbating illnesses requiring more intensive assistance with presenting serious illness.
You need information regarding the appropriateness of increased care intensity, such as moving to a long-term care facility or hospice.
For more information about Cascade Health’s Palliative Care, visit For Patients and Families or For Providers
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Cascade Health Hospice cares for people in Lane County, Oregon, including Eugene, Springfield, Cottage Grove, Junction City, Creswell, Monroe, Veneta, Noti, Blue River, McKenzie Highway, Harrisburg, Sweet Home, Oakridge, Coburg, and Lowell.
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Palliative Care focuses on improving quality of life for the long-term, whereas hospice care is intended for the end of life and neither hastens death nor prolongs life. Palliative Care is appropriate for anyone with a serious illness—you do not need to have a terminal disease to use and benefit from it. Unlike hospice, you can be on Palliative Care while you continue with aggressive curative treatments.
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Medicare, Medicaid/Oregon Health Plan and most private insurance plans cover the costs of Cascade Health Palliative Care, though you may be responsible for copays.
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Yes. Palliative Care can be ordered by a primary physician or other physicians on your care team whenever a serious disease is diagnosed.
FAQs
