Palliative Care Resources
These resources help community partners, clinicians, care navigators, and other trusted messengers share information about palliative care and connect people living with serious illness to local services. Created by the Supportive Care Collaborative, they are designed for use in conversations, education, and referrals.
Quick Links
What is Palliative Care?
Palliative care is specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness. It focuses on relieving symptoms, easing stress, and improving quality of life. It can help with pain, nausea, fatigue, shortness of breath, trouble sleeping, and other physical symptoms. It also provides emotional, spiritual, and practical support for patients and their families.
Palliative care is provided by a team that may include doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains, and other specialists. They work alongside a person’s existing doctors and care team. They do not replace their care. They add to it. And, palliative care is available at any stage of illness, including soon after diagnosis, whether or not a person is still receiving treatment.
Palliative Care Can Help People and Their Families
Understand their illness and the care options available to them
Manage symptoms and side effects
Support emotional, spiritual, and overall well-being
Navigate difficult family conversations and care decisions
Connect to community services and caregiver support
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Palliative Care Handout
The Palliative Care Handout is a plain-language resource for people living with serious illness, families, and caregivers. Available in English, Spanish, and Chinese, it explains what palliative care is, how it can help, and how to ask for a referral.
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We are putting the finishing touches on the handouts and will post them here soon. To be notified when they are available, please contact us.
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Palliative Care Teaching Slides
The Palliative Care Teaching Slides are designed for clinicians and community educators leading workshops, staff trainings, or community presentations about palliative care. The slides can be used with the Palliative Care Handout so participants have something to take home and share with the people they support.
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We are finalizing the slides and will post them here soon. To be notified when they are available, please contact us.
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Palliative Care Directory
The Palliative Care Directory helps clinicians, care navigators, community health workers, and community-based organizations find local palliative care services for people living with serious illness.
It currently focuses on San Francisco, with plans to expand to four additional Bay Area counties.
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Palliative care programs require a referral from a doctor or other clinician. If palliative care may be helpful for someone you work with, care for, or support, you can encourage them to ask their doctor or healthcare team about a referral. Some programs may also offer guidance on how to request one.
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Video Resources
These short videos can help clinicians, community educators, care navigators, and other trusted messengers introduce palliative care to the people and communities they serve. They can be used in presentations, shared with staff, or offered as follow-up resources after a conversation.