Palliative Care

The Palliative Care team at Boston Medical Center (BMC) offers specialized, personalized support for patients and their families facing serious or life-threatening illnesses. Whether patients are experiencing physical or emotional strain during a hospital stay or navigating complex care decisions, our goal is to enhance quality of life at any stage of illness.

Use the contact information below or page #0179 to reach the Palliative Care team.

What We Do

Our care team is made up of doctors, nurse practitioners, and social workers, and is here to provide an extra layer of support during your hospital stay or if you're a patient in the hematology and oncology outpatient clinics. We care for all admitted patients, regardless of insurance status, and work closely with your primary and specialty teams, chaplains, and clinical staff to:

Where We Work

BMC’s palliative care team offers both inpatient and outpatient services, as well as at-home care for people with serious illnesses.

Inpatient

If you have a serious illness and are hospitalized at BMC, our inpatient palliative care consult team can get involved to help with pain and symptom management, understanding what to expect over the course of illness, help with planning and decision-making, as well as provide strong medical and emotional support. Your team may consult our inpatient team, but if not, you can request a palliative care consult yourself, just ask your doctor or nurse.

Outpatient

Our palliative care team sees patients directly in the Cancer Center Monday through Friday. If you are an oncology patient receiving cancer care within the BMC Health System, you may benefit from being seen by one of our palliative care providers. We will aim to see you during your oncology visit if able, but if not, we also offer telemedicine visits. We work closely with your oncology team and strive to make your visits to the Cancer Center as easy and supportive as possible. You can ask your oncologist for a referral.

Home Program

Our home-based palliative care program currently sees patients living with a serious illness in their homes. If you are living with a serious illness, live near BMC, and have difficulty getting out of the house for medical appointments, our experienced palliative care nurse practitioner will come to you and see you in your home, helping to cut down on your number of visits to the hospital. Ask your doctor for a referral.