Palliative Care at Compassion Health Care
Palliative care has come to Caswell County, NC by way of a partnership between Compassion Health Care, Inc. and AuthoraCare Collective.
Compassion Health Care, Inc. (CHC) strives to be the provider of choice in healthcare for our community and surrounding areas in Caswell County and Rockingham County, which means we are continually seeking out new ways to provide services based on our community needs. CHC and AuthoraCare (ACC) have partnered to provide palliative care services in Caswell County. The palliative care specialty clinic will provide patients and their families with an extra layer of coordinated support through a team of specialists, including nurse practitioners and social workers, and will address the physical and emotional suffering that a patient may experience.
Christin Gusler, a familiar face to Caswell County residents, will lead the clinic for AuthoraCare. Gusler is a Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner who is board certified in Palliative Medicine. She dedicated 6 years to rural health at Caswell Family Medical Center between 2007 and 2013 where she initiated a Primary Care House Call program. Most recently, she has served Caswell County making palliative home visits for AuthoraCare.
What is Palliative Care?
Palliative care is specialized medical care for someone at any stage of serious illness, although it is ideally provided early on and provides comfort and relief from pain and other symptoms throughout eat stage of the illness. The palliative care team, which is comprised of physicians, nurses, and other specially trained people, will help improve the quality of life and manage the physical, psychological, and social aspects associated with the illness, as well as that person’s family. Palliative care not only helps improve the quality of life for someone, but it may also help that person live a longer life. Palliative care is offered to people of any age who may be suffering from an illness such as:
- Cancer
- Heart Disease
- Kidney Failure
- Lung Disease
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Cystic Fibrosis
- End-stage liver disease
- and more…
Is Palliative Care the same as Hospice?
Hospice and palliative care are not the same, but both offer care such as medication, access to social workers and other experts, and include the family to minimize suffering from a serious illness. With palliative care, the treatment for a serious illness continues, while hospice care is for those who do not wish to pursue treatment, or whose illness has stopped responding to treatment. Hospice focuses on the comfort and symptom management of a person with a projected life expectancy of no more than six months.
According to AuthoraCare, one of the biggest differences between hospice and palliative care is what specific services are provided.
For more information, including insurance questions and how to set up an appointment with AuthoraCare at CHC’s Caswell Family Medical Center in Yanceyville, NC, or if you think you or a loved one can benefit from a palliative care consultation, call (336) 790-3672.