Hospice and Palliative Care in Trivandrum, India
By Andrew Patzke Imagine how you would feel if you were afflicted with a disease that you did not fully understand, the cost of your medical treatments had consumed all of your family’s resources, and you were suffering from immense pain that you could no longer afford to manage properly. Such are the circumstances of many of the patients that Pallium India serves. Pallium India is an NGO that seeks to provide the population of Trivandrum, India with access to hospice and palliative care. As a result, Pallium India is also giving its patients access to dignity and relief during an incomprehensibly difficult time. Over the past three weeks, I have spent my winter break studying hospice and palliative care at Pallium India in Trivandrum, Kerala. This unique opportunity has afforded me the ability to learn about several different aspects of health care delivery in great detail that will greatly supplement the “normal” course work I have and will complete as a master of health admin