Pain / Symptom Management
When a patient that will be in need of pain control is admitted to the hospice program from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, the child's attending physician has the option of utilizing the expertise of the Pain Management Clinic for total management of the child's pain needs or on a consultative basis.
At the patient's home, the hospice nurse performs an in-depth assessment of the child's pain status, medication effectiveness and side effects. Throughout all aspects of pain management, family goals and reasonable expectations are discussed.
Caregivers and patients, if they are able, are encouraged to participate in the planning of care. Patient and family wishes are respected in terms of the medications that may be used, balancing acceptable levels of pain with acceptable levels of side effects. The pain management plan is developed after a thorough evaluation of the disease state and pain history of the child.
Ongoing collaboration with all parties involved is essential to making this system effective. A stepwise progression of treatment is utilized as needed. Every attempt is made to anticipate changes in the child's condition, to alert the family as to what may occur and to be prepared to initiate any necessary change in therapy.
For more information about the StarShine Hospice, please call 513-636-4663, or email starshine@cchmcc.org.
