Palliative Care

The mission of Palliative Care at Mayo Clinic Health System is to provide whole-person care for patients who are experiencing serious or life-threatening illness. Our goal is to prevent and relieve suffering, including pain and other symptoms of disease. Respecting the desires of patients, as well as their families and caregivers, palliative care seeks to improve quality of life in the face of serious illness.

The Palliative Care team consists of an interdisciplinary group of physicians, advanced practice nurses, chaplains, licensed clinical social workers, pharmacists, physical and occupational therapists. Starting with their individual expertise, the group builds a care plan that carefully considers the unique needs of each patient.

Services include: 

• Symptom relief (from pain, nausea, anxiety, depression, constipation or diarrhea, fatigue, poor appetite)
• Defining goals of care
• Counseling for emotional distress
• Caregiver and family support and education
• Spiritual support
• Physical and occupational therapy
• Integrative therapies
• Advanced care planning
• Bereavement services

Relationship to Hospice Care
Palliative care can begin at the onset of illness. The patient may continue to receive treatment for the disease along with palliative services. Palliative care can be provided in the hospital or the clinic. In the United States, hospice services are often determined by Medicare. Medicare covers hospice when life expectancy is 6 months or less, although it can be received for longer periods of time. Typically, hospice care is in the home. When cure is no longer an option, and a referral to hospice is appropriate, we can provide a seamless transition to hospice care. Learn more about hospice care at Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse.

Palliative care services require a physician referral. Please speak with your primary care provider (or the primary care provider of your loved one) regarding a referral.

Call us if you have questions regarding palliative care. Current palliative care patients should call and ask for the hospice provider.

Appointments are offered via facility-to-facility video visits, which reduce the need to travel far and enable patients to receive care close to home.

For a facility-to-facility video visit, patients arrive to the clinic and a nurse connects them with the specialist via video. The innovative technology uses a Bluetooth stethoscope, a USB otoscope and high definition cameras that can move and zoom in for a high-quality physical exam and personal conversation with the specialist.

Video appointments are currently offered at select locations in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Learn more about facility-to-facility video appointments.

Call us for more information or to schedule an appointment.

In certain cases, patients may be connected to services at other Mayo Clinic Health System locations for their follow-up care.