Relieving Pain. Caring for the Whole Person.

World Hospice and Palliative Care Day | October 10, 2026

On Saturday, October 10, Calvary joins hospice and palliative care providers around the world in marking World Hospice and Palliative Care Day.

This year’s theme is Pain Management: An Essential Part of Palliative Care.

At Calvary, we care for every kind of pain: physical, emotional, and spiritual. It has been at the heart of our work for more than a century.

When someone is living with serious illness, what does it take to ease their suffering?

At Calvary, it starts with understanding everything a person is going through. Physical pain is often only part of it. Someone facing a life-limiting illness is also often living with fear, grief over what has changed, worry about the people they love, and hard questions about meaning or faith.

We care for all of it, because easing one kind of suffering is rarely enough.

Physical pain. Our physicians, therapists, and pharmacy team work together to manage pain and symptoms, so comfort is never left to chance.

Emotional pain. Our social workers and family care practitioners help patients and the people close to them work through fear, grief, and the weight of so much change.

Spiritual pain. Our pastoral care team is here for the hard questions, offering presence and support in whatever faith or tradition a person holds, or none at all.

No one team treats the whole person. It is the way these teams work together that does. Because worry about loved ones is often a patient’s deepest concern, that care doesn’t end with the patient. Our family care and bereavement team stays so every patient can know the people they love will be cared for too.

What does pain mean in palliative care?

At Calvary, we understand that pain reaches beyond the physical. Relieving physical pain is a priority for our physicians and therapists. But caring for people facing life-limiting illness also means attending to suffering that medication alone cannot ease.

A patient may feel anxious about what comes next, grieve the loss of their independence, or worry about how their loved ones are coping. They may struggle with questions about meaning or faith, or feel distress they cannot easily put into words.

In palliative care, this is known as “total pain”: the understanding that physical, emotional, social, and spiritual suffering are connected. Fear can make physical pain harder to bear. Even when medication brings relief, a patient may lie awake with a worry they have not shared.

Calvary’s care is built on this understanding. We care for the whole person, listening closely, responding to each kind of suffering, and supporting the loved ones facing it alongside them.

How does a care team recognize what a patient needs?

At Calvary, an interdisciplinary team of health professionals addresses all forms of suffering.Some have concerns about pain medication. Others can’t find the words.

Our physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, and other specialists work together. They listen to what patients tell them, and they notice what patients don’t say. They often start with simple questions:
What’s bothering you most right now? What are you worried about? What would help you feel more at ease?

The answers shape the care. Sometimes the right response is a medication change. Sometimes it’s help sorting out a concern at home, or an hour with a chaplain. Each can ease suffering.

The people at the bedside need support too. A clear explanation, a chance to ask questions, and someone who will really listen can make an uncertain time feel less lonely. That support is part of our care model, too.

Is palliative care only for the final days?

No. Suffering doesn’t wait until the end of life, and relief shouldn’t either. Palliative care focuses on comfort and quality of life for anyone living with serious illness. It can begin earlier in an illness and can be given alongside treatment.

Hospice is one form of palliative care, for people approaching the end of life.

At Calvary, the goal is the same in every setting: to relieve suffering in all its forms. You don’t need to know which kind of care fits before you ask for help.

How does Calvary help others provide this care?

We teach our care model to others, because relief from suffering shouldn’t depend on where someone receives care.

Calvary has cared for people with advanced illness since 1899. In 1985, before palliative care was widely recognized as a field, Calvary founded its Palliative Care Institute. Since then, the Institute has welcomed thousands of physicians, nurses, social workers, students and other professionals from across the United States and more than 30 countries. Medical students from around the New York area train at Calvary; and so have FDNY EMTs preparing to become paramedics. The National Cancer Institute has recognized Calvary as an international center for training in palliative care.

Calvary also trains chaplains through its Clinical Pastoral Education program. Participants learn to provide spiritual care to seriously ill patients, both in the hospital and in home hospice.

Every professional who learns at Calvary takes that experience back to their own hospital, clinic, or community. That’s how relief from suffering reaches far beyond our walls.

In addition, hundreds of students and healthcare professionals acquire palliative care skills and access training through Calvary’s Workforce Development Academy.

What can you ask the care team?

At Calvary, we want patients and the people closest to them to speak up. What you notice helps us relieve suffering we might not otherwise see. If you or someone close to you is living with serious illness, these questions can help:

• How is pain being assessed and treated? Ask about physical discomfort, and about emotional and spiritual distress too.
• Could the changes we’re seeing be signs of discomfort? Mention changes in sleep, mood, appetite, or behavior, especially if the person has trouble describing how they feel.
• Could palliative care help now? You can ask at any point during a serious illness.
• Who can help with the worries we’re carrying? Ask what support is available for the patient and for the people caring for them.
• How can care reflect what matters most? Tell the team what brings comfort, what worries you, and what you hope care can make possible.

You don’t need the perfect words. “I’m worried” or “Something has changed” is enough to start.

Caring for the whole person

As we reflect on this year’s World Hospice and Palliative Care Day theme, we return to an understanding that has guided Calvary for more than a century: relieving pain means caring for the whole person.

That means attending to physical, emotional, and spiritual suffering, and supporting loved ones along the way. On October 10 and every day, this is the care we provide and teach others to give.