SEATTLE - Do you know what "palliative care" means? It's not widely known now, but that could soon change.
Palliative care has just been named a formal sub-specialty of medicine. For the first time, Northwest doctors will be earning special fellowships in order to help families through life threatening illness.
Doctor Wayne McCormick is the Lead Medical Director for Providence Hospice of Seattle and he is also Director of the new Palliative Medicine Fellowship for the University of Washington.
"It's the patient and their family that we want to get through difficult illnesses," said McCormick.
Mccormick says, like many medical centers, the UW has been inspired to make palliative care a priority. UW is working in partnership with Providence Hospice of Seattle, along with other medical facilities, to give these doctors special training.
Starting in July, they'll be sending doctors through a year of special training so they know precisely how to take a family by the hand while they walk through life-threatening illness.
"To alleviate suffering at all levels. Not just physical suffering but emotional and spiritual suffering," said McCormick. "To do so with a interdisciplinary team, not just of physicians but of nurse specialists, special social workers, spiritual counselors and others."
Jim Travis and his family recieved that kind of care from Providence Hospice as his wife, Dee, battled ovarian cancer. Jim feels he couldn't have made it without the help of doctors, nurses and social workers who came to his home.
"In the end, the house was full of help that I needed," he said.
"Everybody eventually goes through this and to embrace that and to get the patient and the family through that experience in the best shape possible," said McCormick.
With more doctors training, it's the kind of care Jim Travis is happy to hear more families will be getting in the future. After all, everyone could use some help getting through the worst times in the best possible way.
"There is a much kinder, nicer way of spending the last days -- day -- of your life," said Jim.
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