Palliative Care Services
What services does the OHSU Palliative Medicine and Comfort Care Team provide?
We can provide enhanced communication between you, your family and your medical team, help in making difficult medical decisions at any stage of illness, emotional and spiritual support and expert treatment of symptoms, such as:
- Pain
- Shortness of breath
- Constipation
- Nausea
- Trouble sleeping
- Loss of appetite
We welcome questions from patients and their family members. Ask your doctor for a referral for palliative care services. Our team is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Who benefits from palliative care?
Patients and families who- Need assistance making complex medical decisions
- Need help understanding their condition or prognosis
- Will have complex needs when they leave the hospital
- Have a long, complex hospital stay
- Have a recent diagnosis of a serious illness
- Have a complex illness with many hospital stays
- Experience uncontrolled discomfort or other symptoms
How does palliative care differ from hospice care?
The Palliative Medicine and Comfort Care Team works in the hospital and can provide guidance during any phase of illness. Hospice is a program of services that allows a dying person to remain at home or in a home-like setting for the last weeks and months of life. The Palliative Care Team can help with the transition to hospice care, if needed.
What is comfort care?
Comfort care strives to ensure comfort for patients and families in the last days to hours of life.
Palliative Medicine and Comfort Care Team
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Erik Fromme, M.D., M.C.R., F.A.A.H.P.M. Medical Director Associate Professor of Medicine, Radiation Medicine, and Nursing |
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Tiffany Culbertson, R.N., M.S.N., A.N.P.-B.C. Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist |
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Jeff Myers, P.A.-C. Palliative Care Physician Assistant Instructor, School of Medicine |
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Mary Denise Smith, R.N., C.N.S., A.C.H.P.C.N. Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist Instructor School of Nursing and Medicine |
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Eric Walsh, M.D. Palliative Care Physician Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Hematology and Medical Oncology |
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Terri Schmidt, M.D., M.S. Palliative Care Physician Professor of Emergency Medicine |
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Susan Yoder, R.N., B.S.N. Program Administrator Director, Department of Patient Relations |
