MaineHealth Palliative Care Belfast provides palliative care and support to patients and families facing serious illness. Palliative care is appropriate at any age for life-threatening or life-limiting illnesses. Care can be provided during any part of a patient’s illness and alongside disease directed and curative treatment.
Special care for people living with serious illness
Palliative care helps manage pain and other symptoms of serious illness. It also provides emotional, psychological and spiritual support to patients and their families as they plan for the future. Palliative care teams work together with primary care physicians and specialists to create individualized care plans. The goal of care is to make the quality of life better for both the patient and their loved ones.
More about our services
Palliative care may be right for you if:
- You are living with a serious illness that is causing you pain, stress, or other uncomfortable symptoms such as nausea, shortness of breath, fatigue, loss of appetite, insomnia
- You would like to better understand and receive guidance about your illness and treatment options
- You would like to tailor your medical care to be in alignment with your values, goals and wishes
- You would like assistance in planning for future care needs
Our services vary depending upon your specific situation and illness. We work closely with you and your family to find the services that will provide you with the greatest benefit. These services may include:
- Management of pain and other symptoms
- Assistance in helping you determine what is important to you and what your goals are
- Helping you plan for future care needs
- Helping you understand your illness, the disease process, and possible complications that may arise
- Assisting with advance care directives such as Medical Power of Attorney and POLST (Physician’s Orders for Life Sustaining Treatments)
- Providing you with community resources for
- additional supportive services for home setting
- emotional and spiritual support and counseling
- grief and bereavement support and counseling
- integrative therapies such as massage, acupuncture, Reiki
- Assistance with transitioning to end of life care if or when appropriate
Palliative care is for everyone with a serious illness that keeps them from living as well as possible. Many patients continue to get healing therapy while receiving palliative care. Palliative care is right at any time during a serious illness.
When an illness has progressed to an advanced stage and life-prolonging interventions are no longer desired, hospice care can provide compassion, care and comfort through the end of life.
Most insurance plans, including Medicare and MaineCare, cover palliative care. We welcome patients (and their families) who are living with a serious or life-threatening illness, and even if your insurance does not cover palliative care. We are here to help, regardless of your ability to pay.
Contact MaineHealth Patient Financial Services by sending a message to Customer Service in MyChart, or call 1-866-804-2499 (toll-free) Monday through Friday: 8 am – 4:30 pm.
