Inpatient palliative care and hospice program
Palliative care is specialized care for patients living with serious or life-threatening illnesses. This care is delivered by a diverse team of doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains, therapists of various disciplines, and others. The goal of palliative care is to provide quality of life and added support for patients and their loved ones. Hospice is a part of palliative care that provides services to patients in the last months of life.
Our 15-bed inpatient unit is housed in Building 7 on the Brockton campus of the VA Boston HCS. We care for Veterans with serious illness who are in need of additional symptom control, often while undergoing treatment, as well as support families. We also assist with navigating conversation around goals of care and provide care to dying veterans. Our hospice and palliative medicine trained physicians have expertise in symptom management and end of life care. All admissions to our unit are done during weekdays, excluding holidays.
Additional services provided
- Skilled nursing care
- Social work
- Multi-denominational pastoral care
- Psychological counseling
- Nutrition support
- Kinesiotherapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy
- Speech and language pathology
- Pharmacy
- Recreation therapy
For more information
If you are interested in a referral for you or your loved one, please ask your doctor, social worker, or another member of your medical team to contact our patient transfer coordinator at
Our team aims to review all complete referrals within 24 hours, but our review process can take up to one business week if further clinical information is needed. Thank you for your interest in our unit.