Palliative Care

Administrative Office Location

1201 Sam Perry Blvd., Suite 215
Fredericksburg, VA 22401
P: 540.741.3111
F: 540.741.2331
Hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Palliative care focuses on aggressively managing symptoms of serious illnesses while also attending to the psychosocial and spiritual needs of the patient and those who care for them. Palliative care is comprehensive treatment of the discomfort, symptoms and stress of serious illness. Palliative care works together with the primary treatment you are receiving.

The purpose of palliative care is to address distressing symptoms such as pain, breathing difficulties or nausea in the setting of life-limiting illness. Receiving palliative care does not necessarily mean you are at end of life. The goal is to prevent and ease suffering and improve your quality of life.

How Palliative Care Can Help

At Mary Washington Palliative Care we have a skilled compassionate team of healthcare professionals trained in this special area of medicine.

Palliative care strives to provide you with:

• Expert treatment of any symptom related to serious illness.
• Open discussion about treatment choices, including treatment for your disease and management of your symptoms.
• Coordination of your care with all of your health care providers.
• Emotional support for you and your family.

Our interdisciplinary team of health care professionals is available to support patients and families, providing a complete approach to care; a team approach to patient-centered care.

Palliative care is provided by a team of specialists that include:

• Nationally certified palliative care doctors
• Nationally certified palliative care nurse practitioner
• Palliative social worker
• Board-certified healthcare chaplain

What we do:

• Family meetings to discuss next steps
• Inpatient consultation
• Translate medical jargon in to “plain talk”
• Symptom management
• Spiritual counseling
• Emotional counseling
• Educational to patients, families, community, and staff

How Do You Know if You Need Palliative Care?

Many adults and children living with illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, lung disease, kidney failure, AIDS, cystic fibrosis, dementia, and among others, experience physical symptoms and emotional distress related to their diseases. Sometimes these symptoms are related to the medical treatments they are receiving.

You may want to consider palliative care if you or your loved one:

• Suffers from pain or other symptoms due to serious illness.
• Experiences physical or emotional pain.
• Need help understanding your situation and coordinating your care.

Insurance Pays for Palliative Care

Most insurance plans cover all or part of palliative care treatment you receive in the hospital, just as they would other services. Medicare and Medicaid also typically cover palliative care.

Meet Our Team

Medical Director: Anson Pham, MD

Physician: Stephanie Anderson, DO

Nurse Practitioners: Jennifer Thompson, NP; Judith Albert, NP; Rachel Butler, NP; Heather Kellam, NP

Palliative Counselors: John Croner, LCSW and Moira Shuhart, MSW

Clinical Manager: Carole Griffin RN, BSN, CHPN