Palliative Care

What is Palliative Care?

"Palliative care is about the caring
catching up with the technology."

—Amanda, family member

Dealing with the symptoms of a serious illness is difficult. However, special care is available to make you more comfortable right now. It’s called palliative (pal-lee-uh-tiv) care.

Palliative care is a medical specialty that focuses on the many ways serious illness affects you and your family. Palliative care can help with distressing symptoms such as pain, breathing difficulties, problems with sleep, loss of appetite, and nausea. It provides both emotional and spiritual support for you and your family.

Making decisions about treatment options can be difficult. Palliative care offers open and detailed discussions to help you decide what is best for you.

When Can I Receive Palliative Care?

You can receive palliative care at the same time that you are receiving other treatments for your illness.

The palliative care team works alongside your primary physician. The team can help coordinate your care among all your health care providers, and assist with planning for discharge from the hospital.

How does Palliative Care Differ from Hospice?

Hospice care focuses on caring for people at the end of their life. Palliative care, on the other hand, is available to you at any time during your illness. Its availability does not depend on whether or not your condition can be cured.

How Do I Get a Palliative Care Consult?

Palliative care can help improve your quality of life now. Ask your primary physician for a palliative care consult. Consults are available at RMH Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm. The RMH Palliative Care outpatient clinic is located at 1931 Medical Avenue, Harrisonburg, and an appointment can be made after referral from your physician.

To learn more about the RMH palliative care program, call 540-564-5600.

Meet Our Team

	K. Ellissa Tiller, MD Medical Director of RMH Palliative Care Dr. Tiller attended medical school at the University of Queensland in Australia. She completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Virginia, where she received the Donnelly Award for the best all-around Internist. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and Hospice/Palliative Care. She won the 2010 RMH Golden Stethoscope Award for excellence in patient care, customer service, communication and teamwork.
	Timothy Short, MD A graduate of Duke medical school, Dr. Short served as chief resident at UVA and is board certified in family medicine and hospice/palliative medicine. After 20 years as partner in family medicine in Charlottesville where he also taught at UVA, he became Chief Medical Officer at Hospice of the Piedmont. Most recently, while serving as medical director of Northwest Community Hospital’s palliative program in Chicago, his program received national recognition
	Jennifer Bryant, NP Jennifer Bryant is a licensed, board certified Nurse Practitioner. She received her Bachelor's in Nursing at James Madison University. As a registered nurse, she practiced for 16 years in a wide variety of settings including the ICU, medical, surgical, neurological and neurosurgical units at the University of Virginia Health System. She received her Master's in Nursing at the University of Virginia. She is a member of the Nursing Honor Society, Sigma Theta Tau.