What Is Palliative Care?

Palliative care is specialized medical care focused on improving quality of life for people living with serious illness.

Unlike hospice care, palliative care can be provided alongside curative or disease-directed treatments.

The goal is to help patients:

• Better manage symptoms
• Reduce pain and discomfort
• Improve daily functioning
• Navigate complex healthcare decisions
• Receive emotional and spiritual support
• Enhance quality of life

Research consistently shows that palliative care can improve patient well-being, reduce hospitalizations, and help individuals live more fully throughout the course of their illness.

A Team-Based Approach to Care

The Steward Center utilizes an interdisciplinary model that coordinates with a patient’s existing healthcare providers.

Your care team may include:

• Your primary care physician
• Board-certified palliative care physicians
• Nurse practitioners
• Nurses
• Social workers
• Chaplains
• Dietitians
• Other specialists as needed

Together, this team addresses the four dimensions of wellness:

Part of a Larger Vision for Care

The Steward Center reflects a belief that has guided Hospice Savannah and Georgia Care Innovators for decades:

People deserve support long before a healthcare crisis occurs.

As community needs evolved, our organization recognized that many individuals living with serious illness could benefit from specialized support years before they might qualify for hospice care. The Steward Center was created to meet that need—expanding access to expert care, improving quality of life, and helping patients remain as independent and comfortable as possible.

This commitment to identifying unmet needs and developing innovative solutions remains at the heart of Georgia Care Innovators.

GUIDE: Enhanced Dementia Care and Caregiver Support

Specialized Support for People Living with Dementia

Caring for a loved one with dementia can be overwhelming. The GUIDE Model was developed to provide enhanced services for individuals living with dementia while offering much-needed support for family caregivers.

Through GUIDE, patients and families gain access to additional resources, care coordination, education, and support services designed specifically for the challenges associated with dementia.

The program focuses on:

• Personalized dementia care planning
• Caregiver education and coaching
• Care coordination
• Resource navigation
• Support for underserved populations
• Improved quality of life for patients and caregivers

Patients must have a dementia diagnosis to participate.