Q: Whom does VITAS serve ... and how?
A: We provide care for adult and pediatric patients with a wide range of life-limiting illnesses, including (but not limited to):
- Cancer
- Heart disease
- Stroke
- Lung, liver and kidney disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease)
- Alzheimer’s disease
- AIDS
VITAS provides Intensive Palliative Care®—the aggressive treatment of physical and emotional pain and symptoms. Palliative care is an active treatment plan, but it is not intended to cure a patient’s underlying disease. All VITAS palliative care treatments focus on enhancing a patient’s comfort and overall quality of life.
Q: Who is on the VITAS Care team?
A: The interdisciplinary VITAS Care team is made up of trained caregivers who put individual patient and family needs first:
- Nurses are experienced in assessing and managing pain; they provide hands-on care.
- Social workers are friendly and skilled listeners who can offer emotional support and help with financial issues and planning.
- Physicians collaborate with the patient’s primary physician and are available for pain and symptom management consultation, as well as to make house calls as needed.
- Home health aides help with personal care, such as bathing and mouth care; they also can help with light cleaning, light laundry and occasional shopping.
- Chaplains offer spiritual support.
- Volunteers, specially trained in hospice, are important elements of the team who are available when they are needed most.
- Bereavement specialists provide grief and loss counseling, memorial services and other support for family and loved ones.
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