Atlanta VA Medical Center
In a long-standing partnership, Emory medical faculty comprise virtually all the medical staff at the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center. These faculty head nationally recognized clinical programs there, and they bring in research dollars that place the Atlanta facility among the nation’s top VA centers. Their goal is simple: to serve the nation’s heroes today and improve health care for past, present, and future veterans.
The Atlanta VAMC Geriatrics, Extended Care, and Rehabilitation Service Line is a 100 person, $14 million unit, consisting of a 100-bed long term care facility, outpatient clinics, inpatient attending, palliative care, home care programs, contracted long-term care and home based services, as well as comprehensive rehabilitation services including physiatry, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech pathology, and audiology.
The Atlanta VAMC Palliative and Supportive Care Program is a comprehensive palliative care program serving our nation’s Veteran’s suffering from serious, life threatening illness. At the Atlanta VAMC we care for over 1,200 new patients per year through our outpatient, inpatient and hospice partnerships.
Palliative Care Team at Atlanta VA Medical Center
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Tammie Quest, MD, FAAHPM, Chief of Palliative Care
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Sandra Bravo-Patino, LCSW
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Robert Brown, Chaplain
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Jennifer Dean, PhD
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Kevin Li, MD
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Lauren Marcewicz, MD, Inpatient Program Lead
- Stella Nelms, PhD, Clinical Psychologist
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Lynn O'Neill, MD, FAAHPM
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Faith Powell, PharmD
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Maggie Riley, ACHPN
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Tori Smith, LCSW
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Laura Waddle, MD
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Curtis Williams, Chaplain
Outpatient Clinics
The Atlanta VAMC has a dedicated Outpatient Palliative and Support Care Clinic that sees over 300 new referrals per year with dedicated clinic space, and clinic daily by the interdisciplinary team. The Atlanta VAMC offers Palliative Care Tele-Health visits in order to serve our patients more fully. The program has the full support of primary care and specialty referral sources and serves Veterans longitudinally to meet their physical, spiritual, psychological and social needs in serious illness.
Inpatient Service
The inpatient service consists of the Palliative Care Consultation Team (PCCT) and a dedicated 12 bed acute care Palliative Care Unit (PCU).
Palliative Care Unit: The inpatient PCU is located on the 8th floor of the medical center where seriously ill veterans at all stages of illness receive care. There are no exclusion criteria for the PCU based on diagnosis, goal of care, or care treatment preferences. All therapies are administered on the PCU that would be offered in any unit in the hospital outside of what can be offered in the intensive care unit. The PCU has specially trained bedside nurses with a number of oncology certified nurses for cancer directed therapy administration. Patients are admitted to the unit in a co-management model between their primary admitting team and the Palliative and Supportive Care Team.
Palliative Care Consultation Team (PCCT): Outside of the Palliative Care Unit, the PCCT sees patients across the acute care hospital setting in the medical and surgical intensive care units as well as general inpatient medical and surgical units. The PCCT serves patients with hospice and palliative care needs in our Community Living Center, the Eagle’s Nest, where patients receive long-term care.
The Atlanta VAMC Palliative Care Program partners with community hospice providers to provide hospice care to our terminally ill veterans with limited prognoses.
Teaching and Education
The Atlanta VAMC Palliative Care Program serves a core education site for the Emory School of Medicine Fellowship in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, the required 4th Year Medical Student rotation and for postgraduate learners in a variety of specialties to include (but not limited to) Family Medicine, Geriatric Medicine and Internal Medicine.