Information and Consultation

(650) 573-3982

Palliative Care Program

Palliative care focuses on relief of the pain, stress, and other debilitating symptoms of serious illness.

At San Mateo Medical Center, our palliative care program provides interdisciplinary, culturally sensitive care to our patients with serious illnesses. We provide high-quality, client focused medical, psychosocial, and spiritual care and support for our patients and their family members to alleviate pain and discomfort at the end of life.

Benefits of Palliative Care

Palliative Care provides patients and families:

• A better understanding of the patient’s condition and medical care options
• Relief from pain, shortness of breath, nausea, constipation, difficulty sleeping and other distressing symptoms associated with serious illnesses
• Guidance with difficult treatment choices
• Emotional, cultural, and spiritual support
• Assistance with transition to hospice care

Our Palliative Care Team

Our palliative care team works closely with your primary care doctor to coordinate a plan of care, including discharge planning and other services involved in your care.

Our team includes:

• Palliative Care Physicians
• Social Workers
• Nurses
• Recreation Therapist
• Massage Therapist
• Pastoral Care Staff
• Psychologists

Palliative Care Consultation

We are available for consultation when you want assistance with:

• Managing symptoms
• Discussing goals for care
• Discussing Advanced Directives
• Facilitating family conferences
• Communicating prognosis
• Discussing hospice care