Department of Internal Medicine
Department of Internal Medicine

Palliative Care Service

@ Memorial Hermann Medical Center

Palliative Medicine is both a philosophy of care and an organized, highly structured system for delivering care. The Palliative Care Service is a consult service that evaluates and treats patients requiring palliative care, pain management, and/or hospice services. The goal of Palliative Medicine is to prevent and relieve suffering, supporting the best possible quality of life for patients facing life-threatening or debilitating illness. Palliative specialists aid the patient and family through difficult decision-making associated with end-of-life issues.

Palliative care includes non-pharmacological and pharmacological management of difficult-to-treat symptom complexes with the goal of maintaining the patients’ treatment goals and his/her quality of life.

Common Symptom Complexes in Palliative Medicine:

  • Pain
  • Shortness of Breath
  • Constipation
  • Chronic Nausea
  • Delirium
  • Anxiety
  • Fatigue

The Palliative Care consult service at Memorial Hermann Hospital is run by Dr. Grace Varas.