Page 16 - This Month at Sansum Clinic – June 2021

Is My Patient Ready For
Palliative Care?
Do you ever find it hard to explain why you want your patient to see the Palliative Care team? We like to use the term “Supportive Care” when explaining to people what we do. Our team consists of a physician,
a nurse practitioner, two nurses, a social worker/counselor, a medical assistant, and a team coordinator. We help patients who are facing serious illness, by addressing physical symptoms, psychological challenges, social issues, and spiritual health. Many of our patients interact with every person on our team during their illness, and we encourage them to bring their family or friends to their visits with us. We try to add an extra layer of support for those who are struggling with life-limiting illness. We often see patients with advanced heart or pulmonary disease, neurologic disorders, advanced kidney
disease, and cancers. We will explore patient’s goals of care, and complete advance directives, when needed.
We have a volunteer notary service available for helping patients complete their important documents. We have Spanish speaking staff available for interpretation during our visits. We work closely with the home-based palliative care teams in
the county (VNA, Assisted, Central Coast). Our team is
located in the Ridley Tree Cancer Center.
We would like to use this space regularly to share stories and educate. Do you have topics you would like to hear more about? Have you heard from your patients about their experiences with our team? We would like to better serve you, our colleagues, as well as our patients. Please see our Referral Guidelines here, and on thePoint.
Sansum Clinic provides Palliative Care for any patient in our community, with or without a referral. With telemedicine, we have patients stretching from Bakersfield to Oxnard. We are available to you and your patients, by calling (805) 879-0675.
Contact Us
Office phone: (805) 879-0675
Left to right: Mara Rodriguez, Maria Fazio, RN, Stefani Rashti, NP, Deborah Meyers, MD, Rebecca Bank, RN, Jennifer Blankenbeckler, MA, and Edith Gonzalez, MSW, ASW
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This Month at Sansum Clinic - June 2021