11/25/2025
November is both Hospice and Palliative Care Month, two services that are often misunderstood or used interchangeably. While they share similarities, it's important to realize that each plays a unique role in supporting patients and families.
Barb and Miles Gardner share their family’s experience with hospice care. Their daughter, Brittany, passed away at just 48 after a 5-year battle with lymphoma. When she learned of her diagnosis, Brittany chose not to pursue curative treatments. Palliative care would have been a helpful option to support her comfort and quality of life during that time, but it wasn’t yet available. Today, at Great River Health, both hospice and palliative care can provide meaningful comfort, guidance, and support for families like the Gardners. Here's how they each work:
💙Palliative care is specialized medical care for people living with serious illnesses. It can begin at any stage of an illness and work alongside active treatments. The focus is on managing pain and symptoms, reducing stress, and supporting emotional, spiritual, and practical needs. Palliative care helps patients and families understand their options, make informed decisions, and maintain the best possible quality of life—long before a patient is near the end of life.
💙 Hospice provides care for people with an estimated life expectancy of six months or less when the focus shifts from cure to comfort. It begins only when curative treatments are no longer effective or desired. Hospice provides many of the same benefits as palliative care, like pain and symptom management, emotional and spiritual support, and comfort-focused care. Hospice also provides comfort, guidance, and 24/7 support, allowing families to focus on spending meaningful time together. It also offers bereavement services for loved ones.
We’re grateful to offer both services to our community. To learn more about these services, visit our website. 👇
More about our hospice care: https://bit.ly/44aPddt
More about our palliative care: https://bit.ly/3LQVYuC
