Support Services
Patients facing difficult health care and life decisions sometimes need advocates to ensure that their desires are voiced and honored—both by family members and their overall medical team.
UC Health’s interdisciplinary patient support services team focuses on enhancing quality of life by tackling the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of patients with chronic or life-threatening illnesses. Emphasis is placed on pain and symptom management as well as communication and coordination of care.
The team includes master’s prepared social workers, a nurse practitioner, chaplain and board certified palliative care physician. Both inpatient and outpatient consults are available.
The patient support services team provides assistance with:
- Pain and symptom management, including dyspnea, anxiety, nausea, delirium, difficult-to-control-pain, adjustment to illness or prognosis.
- Family conferences
- Care coordination and complex cases
- Advanced directives
- Code status discussion
- Community resources referrals
- Spiritual counseling
- Psychosocial challenges
- End-of-life discussions
- Hospice referrals
Consultations are available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with telephone support available on weekends, holidays and evenings.
Our Team
 | Georgia Anderson, LISW-S
Social Worker
(513) 584-2117 |
 | Mary Bogan, M. Div., BCC
Chaplain
(513) 584-2269 |
 | Darlene Neal, LISW
Social Worker
(513) 584-2179 |
 | Kelly Rabah, LISW-S, LICDC, ACHP
Director, Patient Support Services
(513) 584-8241 |
 | Elizabeth Rabkin, MD
Palliative Care Physician
(513) 584-8181 |
 | Karla Shearer, BSN, MSN, CHPN
Nurse Practitioner
(513) 584-2269 |