When facing a loved one’s serious illness, family members rarely know how to reduce his or her suffering or where to turn. Ask your doctor about available options.
Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with a serious illness. Care is focused on providing relief of symptoms and stress, helping to improve the patient and family’s quality of life. A team of doctors, nurses and specialists provide care by working together with a patient’s other doctors for an extra layer of support. Care is not based on the patient’s prognosis and it can be provided alongside curative treatment.
- Kokua Mau: kokuamau.org/palliative-care-for-patients-and-families
Hospice is another special kind of care helping those with a prognosis of six months or less to live. The hospice interdisciplinary team strives to relieve pain and suffering and prepare the patient and his or her family for the end of life. Hospice focuses on quality of life — caring, not curing. Care can be provided wherever the patient resides — usually in the patient’s home. - Kokua Mau: kokuamau.org/hospice-providers
- National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization:
nhpco.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/PalliativeCare_VS_Hospice.pdf
BEREAVEMENT NETWORK OF HAWAI‘I
Facilitated by KOKUA MAU (nonprofit)
808-585-9977 | kokuamau.org
kokuamau.org/grief-and-bereavement
Learn more about grief and the healing process: Help For The Bereaved — The Healing Journey
kokuamau.org/wp-content/uploads/CtrOnAging-Booklet-5-REV_6-30-11.pdf
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