The difference between palliative care and hospice

Palliative care and hospice have similar goals, including maintaining quality of life and providing comfort for those facing a serious or life-threatening illness.

But — like many people — you may be wondering what the differences are between these types of care.

What is palliative care?

Palliative care is aimed at enhancing quality of life when someone is experiencing a serious illness. Doctors and other health care providers who specialize in palliative care address a person’s physical symptoms in the context of social, emotional and spiritual challenges.

A major goal of palliative care is to guide a person through the process of figuring out what is most important to them. This ensures the medical care they receive is consistent with their values.

Palliative care is appropriate at any stage of a life-limiting illness. Palliative care providers at MultiCare can be helpful at the time of initial diagnosis as patients and their families gather complex medical information, weigh the treatment options, and begin to cope with the emotional shock and spiritual crises that typically arise.

During the course of a patient’s illness, palliative care providers help with pain and symptom management.

At MultiCare, adult palliative care consultation is available in inpatient and outpatient settings. Providers work as a team to help ensure a patient’s care is well-coordinated and that they understand all the information necessary to make informed, tailored medical decisions.

Is palliative care available to children with serious illnesses?

MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital offers pediatric palliative care for children with complex, life-limiting or life-threatening illnesses. Palliative care provides an extra layer of support for a child and their family. Its goals are to relieve the symptoms and stress of a serious illness and make sure quality of life is the best it can be.

“We see patients with a wide variety of conditions, including cancer, genetic conditions, brain injury, prematurity, medical complexity and many others,” says Stephanie Raghubeer, MD, director of Mary Bridge Children’s Palliative Care.

The team — a doctor, nurse and social worker — works closely with families and their child’s medical providers to help talk through medical decisions, explore goals and values, offer advice about a child’s physical symptoms, make plans for the future and connect to community resources.

“Many families worry that palliative care is the same as end-of-life care, but this is not the case. Palliative care is appropriate at every stage of illness and can be provided alongside current medical care,” says Dr. Raghubeer. “We provide support throughout a family’s journey with serious illness, whatever that may look like.”

Patients can be seen in the Mary Bridge Children’s Palliative Care clinic, via telehealth or while in inpatient care at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital.

What is hospice care?

Hospice care is a specialized form of palliative care for adults who are in the terminal stage of illness or approaching the end of life. It typically focuses on caring for patients whose primary goal is comfort rather than a cure.

Hospice care providers focus on a person’s quality of life as well as their comfort and dignity throughout the dying process. Providers ensure a patient’s pain and symptoms are managed, and their emotional and spiritual concerns are addressed.

“Our clinical staff work with the patient’s family and caregivers, providing education and resources that they may need while they care for their loved one,” explains Abby Cole, RN, clinical manager of hospice with MultiCare Home Health & Hospice. “The interdisciplinary team of doctors, ARNPs, pharmacists, nurses, social workers, comfort therapists, CNAs and spiritual counselors walk with the patient and family during their end-of-life journey. This partnership and teamwork are vital in supporting the patient’s wishes and end-of-life goals.”

MultiCare offers hospice care to all ages, including infants and children.

Similar to adult care, pediatric hospice focuses on comfort and dignity for the child, while supporting the entire family spiritually and emotionally. However, for some pediatric patients, hospice can be accessed without any changes to their typical disease-directed care. The pediatric palliative care team can help families understand their options.

“In general, someone on hospice care is stopping chemotherapy because the treatment makes them feel worse, or they are declining surgery for advanced heart failure,” says Melissa Chubbuck, MD, medical director of MultiCare Home Health & Hospice. “But if continuing to take heart failure medication helps with symptom management like shortness of breath, we can certainly do both.”

In addition to medications for pain and symptom management, MultiCare also offers massage, music and aromatherapy.

Hospice care can often be provided in a patient’s home, nursing home, assisted living facility or hospital. MultiCare’s field team includes nurses, a chaplain, social worker, comfort therapy and volunteer staff who make home visits according to a patient’s need.

Palliative and hospice care are generally covered by Medicare, Medicaid and most private insurance companies.

Find out more about hospice and palliative care at MultiCare by talking to your doctor or other health care provider.

For pediatric palliative care at Mary Bridge Children’s, please call 253-403-3807.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in November 2016 and updated in November 2023.