Palliative Medicine/OACIS

There comes a time when your body has a hard time coping with illnesses you may have had for a long time. Advanced complex illness isn’t a new diagnosis; it is part of common problems such as heart, lung or kidney disease; dementia and some forms of cancer. Most people need extra help managing symptoms and understanding their treatment options, and would like the opportunity to talk about how their illness affects what is most important to them.

Lehigh Valley Health Network’s OACIS program, a specialized palliative medicine service, can help by streamlining your care and providing calm in the midst of confusion. Palliative care is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness and can be provided together with curative treatment. OACIS stands for optimizing advanced complex illness support. We are a team of doctors, advanced practice nurses and other caregivers who are skilled at helping make your journey easier. We provide assistance with managing difficult symptoms, can make house calls and can help facilitate conversations with family members or other health professionals involved in your care. If you require hospitalization, we can be there to make sure all your doctors know what kind of care you want.

OACIS' administrative offices are located at 2166 S. 12th St., Suite 402, in Allentown, Pa. 18103-8700. Reach us at 610-969-0100.

Here’s a snapshot of what we offer.

OACIS Home-Based Consult Service

The service is provided by certified registered nurse practitioners who make house calls in the patient’s home or assisted-living facility. Phone access to an office-based nurse is available to patients, family members, physicians and community agencies for information and assistance.

The nurse practitioners:

• Gain an understanding of the patient’s physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs
• Learn about the patient’s goals and treatment preferences
• Provide assistance with understanding the illness and available treatment choices
• Collaborate closely with all physicians involved in the patient’s care
• Foster communication so that all members of the care team and family are working together with a consistent understanding of the patient’s illness and the goals of treatment
• Help manage difficult symptoms
• Encourage self-management goals
• Provide support to patient and family
• Provide visits to the home every one to three months to monitor the patient’s health status and respond to emerging needs (Frequency of visits is based on patient need.)
• Link patients with additional services in the community

In our home-based service, our primary focus is getting to know you. We’ll come to your home or assisted-living facility and talk to you about your life, including your physical, emotional and spiritual needs. You may need help with taking care of your physical symptoms, helping your family cope with your illness or managing your health at home. We want to understand what’s important to you and will work to help you achieve your goals.

We will keep coming back. Over the course of several visits, we will talk about your illness and your personal goals so you can improve your quality of life, and if possible, avoid going to the hospital. We will always collaborate with your current doctors and continue to check on you, providing special help as needs arise.

If you need to go to the hospital, your medical team may consult the OACIS/Palliative Medicine Inpatient Consult Service, who will be there to support you and your family. We will help everyone understand your illness and explain the choices you have. We will help manage your difficult symptoms and communicate with your doctors to ensure they know what you would like them to do.

OACIS/Palliative Medicine Inpatient Consult Service

This is a consult service that is available to collaborate with the hospital care team. The physicians and advanced practice nurses on the service:

• Gain an understanding of the patient’s physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs
• Learn about the patient’s goals and treatment preferences
• Provide assistance with understanding the illness and available treatment choices
• Foster communication so that all members of the care team and family are working together with a consistent understanding of the patient’s illness and the goals of treatment
• Help manage difficult symptoms
• Conduct family meetings and provide support to patients and families
• Make referrals to community-based services upon discharge

Palliative Care Outpatient Clinic (PCOC)

This is an outpatient consult service on the first floor of the John and Dorothy Morgan Cancer Center at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest. Services are provided by advanced practice nurses (APN’s) and physicians in a clinic setting. The services include:

• Assessment of patient/family understanding of disease and prognosis
• Assessment of patient/family decision-making style
• Advance care planning
• Symptom management
• Referral for community resources
• Care coordination

Learn more about whether palliative care is right for you and how to discuss getting a referral from your doctor.