Comfort Partners, A Palliative Care Program

The Comfort Partners palliative care program provides care at the right time in the right setting, and can help prevent unnecessary hospital and emergency room visits. With the in-home services provided through Comfort Partners, patients and their families learn strategies for living with chronic disease and receive aid with advance care planning. The care team is a valuable resource for the patient’s physician and they frequently communicate with the primary care physician.

Specific services provided by the Comfort Partners palliative care team include:

• Open and supportive discussion about treatment choices and symptom management
• Coordination of care with the patient’s primary care physician
• Emotional support for the patient and the family
• 24/7 telephone access to a registered nurse
• Social work visits to help access community support services
• Regular phone contact to monitor the patient’s condition and answer questions

Other major issues that are addressed include advance care planning and psychological and spiritual needs.

Comfort Partners provides services to patients in their homes using a team of nurses, social workers and spiritual care staff, along with palliative care physician consultation. The care team works with the patient’s physician to coordinate and case manage care at no additional cost to eligible patients.

The Comfort Partners palliative care program was developed in association with Independent Health, Univera, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and those willing to pay privately.

Additionally, to be eligible a patient must be facing a serious progressive illness, including, but not limited to:

• Cancer (metastatic/recurrent)
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
• Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)
• Progressive neurological disorders
• Advanced Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia
• End stage renal disease
• Stroke (with decreased function by at least 50%)