Palliative Care Services

The following services are available to Norris Cotton Cancer Center patients.

24-Hour On-Call Service

We provide immediate assistance to patients and providers caring for patients facing end of life issues, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Inpatient Consultation Service

We respond quickly to patients in the hospital, assisting their doctors in alleviating pain and other discomforts and helping patients and families in clarifying goals of treatment and in making difficult treatment decisions.

Outpatient Palliative Care Clinic

We provide initial evaluations, follow-up visits and interim care provided through regular check-ups by the Palliative Care team. Whenever possible coordinated with other clinical appointments to avoid extra trips to the Medical center.

Family Education

We help families to understand a patient's condition and treatment options. We also assist families in adjusting to the practical challenges and emotional stress of caring for someone they love who is seriously ill.

Home Health and Hospice Care Referrals

We extend medical and nursing care, along with personal care, comfort, and emotional support to the seriously ill at home. VNA and Hospice of Vermont and New Hampshire and other area home health and hospice programs work with the DHMC Palliative Care team to provide high quality and integrated services for patients and their families who are dealing with the many challenges of care through the end of life. Since many people choose to spend their last months, weeks, and days in the comfort of their homes, close communication among home health, hospice, palliative care staff and family physicians greatly facilitates comfort and peace during this important time in life.

Like the interdisciplinary Palliative Care team at Norris Cotton Cancer Center, the hospice teams include nurses and physicians, as well as chaplains, social workers, physical therapists and trained volunteers. Representatives from the VNA and Hospice of Vermont and New Hampshire and Cancer Center teams meet to assure an easy transition for patients and access to broader resources for staff. Carefully chosen and trained volunteers are often a valued additional resource offering respite, companionship, childcare, and general support for family as well as patient.

Bereavement support

We reach out to people who have experienced the death of someone they love cope with the grief that naturally follows.