What is the difference between hospice and palliative care?

Hospice Services
nurse visiting a senior patient at home, measuring her blood pressure

Hospice and Palliative Care: Making a Difference

A hospice nurse was recently asked, “How can you work in hospice – it must be so sad!”

She answered, “I love providing highly-skilled, compassionate care because I know I make a huge difference in the quality of a person’s life. I love that I can use my training as a nurse to bring comfort and dignity to my patients, and seeing the relief on their faces and on the faces of those who care for them. I love that I can offer practical solutions to patients and families and help them find more meaningful moments at the end of life.”

Hospice isn’t about dying but is about living as fully as possible despite a life-limiting illness.


November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, a time to draw attention and raise awareness of this special kind of care.

What is Hospice Care

Hospice care provides pain management, symptom control, psychosocial support, and spiritual care to patients and their families when a cure is not possible.  The nation’s hospices serve more than 1.5 million people every year – and their family caregivers, too.


Hospice care is fully covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and most private insurance plans and HMOs. 


Many people only consider hospice care in the final days of life but hospice is ideally suited to care for patients and family caregivers for the final months of life.

What is Palliative Care

Palliative care brings the same interdisciplinary team care as hospice to people earlier in the course of a serious illness and can be provided along with other treatments they may still be receiving from their doctor.

Hospices are the largest providers of palliative care services and can help answer questions about what might be most appropriate for a person.  Many hospitals also have palliative care teams available to provide services.

Hospice and palliative care are available to people of all ages with any serious or life-limiting illness.

Hospice and palliative care combine the highest level of quality medical care with the emotional and spiritual support for patients and family caregivers.  Hospice and palliative care can may a profound difference and help maximize the quality of life for all those they care for.

To learn more about hospice and palliative care, call us at 702-380-8300.

To see some videos and stories about the moments that hospice makes possible for patients and families, visit www.MomentsOfLife.org.   c

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Back To Top

8025 Amigo Street
Las Vegas, Nevada 89123

Phone: (702) 380.8300
Fax: (702) 380.8302

Back To Top

8025 Amigo Street
Las Vegas, Nevada 89123

Phone: (702) 380.8300
Fax: (702) 380.8302

Copyright © 2026 ProCare Hospice. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy

Designed and Developed By: Royal Ink

Dr. Cara Goo, D.O

Dr. Cara Goo, D.O. completed her Family Medicine residency at Guthrie Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton, NY where she first became interested in Palliative Medicine and its application in the clinic and the hospital. She is a graduate of Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, and Pacific College of Health and Science, where she trained in Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture, and herbs. In fellowship, she hopes to bridge osteopathic and integrative medicine with palliative care. 

Dr. Iryna Kobita, MD

Iryna Kobita recently completed her Internal Medicine Residency at The Valley Health System in Las Vegas and is pleased to continue her medical training in Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Prior to relocating to the United States, she practiced medicine in Ukraine, bringing valuable international clinical experience to her work. Iryna looks forward to contributing to the program, building strong professional relationships, and continuing to grow as a physician. Outside of medicine, she enjoys traveling, spending time outdoors, and being with family and friends.

Dr. Diana Lee, MD

Dr. Diana Lee graduated from Capital Medical University in Beijing, China, in 1991. Following graduation, she completed five years of pediatric residency training at Beijing Children's Hospital, one of the largest and most prestigious pediatric hospitals in China.

After relocating to the United States, she completed her second residency training program in Internal Medicine at Greater Baltimore Medical Center in 2004. She then worked as a hospitalist with Mercy Medical Group in Sacramento, California, for 10 years, before moving to Las Vegas to join Platinum Hospitalist Group, where she currently practices.

After earning her ABIM board certification in Hospice and Palliative Medicine in 2012, Dr. Lee focused her career on this specialty. In 2017, she established the first hospital-based inpatient palliative care consultation service in Las Vegas at St. Rose Dominican Siena Hospital. Under her leadership, this initiative expanded from a single-physician service into a multidisciplinary team of four palliative care physicians and 12 nurse practitioners, providing consultations across eight hospitals in Las Vegas. She has also served as the program director for the OPTI-West Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship since 2021.

Dr. Lee is dedicated to advancing patient-centered palliative care through clinical excellence, program development, education, and collaboration. As the founder of one of the region's largest inpatient palliative care programs, she continues to expand access to specialty services and improve care for patients with serious illnesses throughout Southern Nevada.

Dr. Dan Miulli, DO, MS, FACOS

Graduate of Midwestern University-CCOM and completed Neurosurgical Residency Training at Allegheny General Hospitals receiving diploma from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Board certified in Neurological Surgery and Neurocritical Care. Practices Neurosurgery in Southern California. Is the Designated Institutional Official, Chief Academic Officer, and CEO of OPTI-West Educational Consortium and Sponsoring Institution.