Firsthealth of the Carolinas recently issued the following announcement.
Patients in Montgomery County and the surrounding area who are facing a serious illness now have an additional resource to help maintain their quality of life.
FirstHealth's new Palliative Care Clinic opened Sept. 21 in the Medical Arts Building beside Montgomery Memorial Hospital at 522 Allen St., Suite 103, in Troy. The clinic focuses on coordinating care with patients' primary care and specialist providers to help patients better understand their illness, manage symptoms and avoid unnecessary hospitalizations.
“Our goal is to work with our patients’ care team to provide an additional layer of support and improve the quality of life for our patients and families affected by serious illness," said Laurie Klimczyk, AGNP, MSN, a provider with FirstHealth Palliative Care who cares for patients at the Troy clinic.
Palliative care is offered along with all other appropriate medical treatments. “The focus is on the needs of the patient, whether those needs involve symptom management, psychosocial support, advance care planning or coordinating referrals to other community services,” added Klimczyk.
Palliative care is for people of any age and at any stage in an illness, whether that illness is curable, chronic or life-threatening. Patients with cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, chronic lung disease, dementia and many other illnesses are eligible for palliative care.
According to Klimczyk, The Palliative Care Clinic is an important addition to health care in Montgomery County. "We want to ensure we are doing all we can to meet the health care needs in this community, and I believe this clinic is an important part of that effort."
Klimczyk earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of North Carolina Greensboro, a Master of Science in Nursing Education from Grand Canyon University and a Post Master’s Certificate as an Adult Geriatric Nurse Practitioner from Daeman College in 2014. She has more than 25 years of health care experience.
Patients and families, as well as primary care and specialty providers, can contact the Palliative Care Clinic for more information by calling (910) 715-6000 or toll-free at (866) 861-7485. The Palliative Care Clinic in Troy is open every Tuesday.
FirstHealth Palliative Care is comprised of a specialty-trained team of palliative medicine-certified physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses and social workers. To learn more, visit www.firsthealth.org/palliativecare.
Original source can be found here.
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