End-of-Life Comfort and Care
Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center understands that end of life requires active and compassionate therapies to support individuals and families. The Hospital is committed to providing patients with the best quality of life during an advanced disease or life-limiting illness by ensuring comfort and dignity.
The Hospital’s Role in End-of-Life Comfort and Care
Hospital staff can assist patients in the following ways:
- Discuss options for end-of-life care including palliative care and hospice referrals
- Encourage conversations with personal physicians
- Provide general information about the End-of-Life Option Act
Palliative Care
Palliative care is a medical service that can be offered at the same time as treatment and may include the management of pain and symptoms, as well as discussions about advance care planning. The Hospital’s Palliative Care program uses a multidisciplinary approach to address the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual needs of the patient and their family. Palliative care may be complementary to curative or life-prolonging therapies that are being used to meet a patient’s defined goals of care.
Our Palliative Care team works with patients to:
- Educate patients and families in an effort to promote understanding of the disease process and the expected future course of an illness
- Engage patients and families to participate in the medical decision-making process
- Develop a plan of care that promotes patients’ quality of life and maintains the dignity they deserve
- Establish an environment that promotes patients’ cultural, spiritual and religious needs
Hospice
Hospice is an option for individuals who have decided to stop treatment that may prolong their life. The primary goal of hospice services is to provide comfort care. The Hospital can provide referrals for hospice care.
End-of-Life Option Act
Effective June 9, 2016, California allows an adult who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and who has a life expectancy of no more than six months to request and be prescribed an aid-in-dying drug, if specified conditions are met. In order to qualify for the aid-in-dying medication, the patient must have the capacity to make medical decisions for him/herself, be a resident of California, make three voluntary requests (two oral and one written) and have the ability to self-administer the medication.
Hospital participation in the End-of-Life Option Act is voluntary, as the law is designed for the outpatient setting. Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center is not participating in the Act, so we encourage patients who would like to learn more about the End-of-Life Option Act to have a conversation with their personal physician.
