Palliative Care
Palliative medicine is specialized medical care aimed at providing relief from the symptoms and stress associated with serious illnesses. Palliative care is specialized care for people facing serious illness, focusing on providing relief of suffering (physical, psychosocial, and spiritual), to maximize quality of life for both the patient and family. Within palliative care, serious illness is defined as a health condition that carries a high risk of mortality and a) negatively impacts a person's daily function, b) negatively impacts a person's quality of life, and/or c) excessively strains the person's caregiver.
Tennessee Health Commissioner Dr. Ralph Alvarado on Palliative Care
State Palliative Care and Quality of Life Advisory Council
The Palliative Care and Quality of Life Advisory Council is a legislatively mandated council outlined in Tennessee Code Title 68, Chapter 1. The purpose of the council is to continually assess the current status of palliative care in this state and review the barriers that exist that prevent such care from being obtained and utilized by the people who could benefit from such care. The council shall provide recommendations to the governor and to the general assembly on issues related to its work. The Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health appoints members of the council for a term of three (3) years.
Current Advisory Council Members
Shelley Hale, Tennessee Department of Disability and Aging
Dr. Ashley Fedusenko, Erlanger
Dr. Tracy Hills, Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital
Dr. Karen Hyden, Evergreen Nephrology
Dr. Mohana Karlekar, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Nina Monroe, Tennessee Healthcare Association
Maria Moore, Gentiva Hospice
Sally Pitt, Tennessee Department of Health
Tammy Stokes, Maury Regional Medical Center
Advisory Council Reports
2023