What is Palliative Care?
Under the Department of Family and Social Medicine the inpatient Palliative Care Program has 4 interdisciplinary consultation teams at three campuses: Moses, Weiler, Wakefield and one interdisciplinary team at the Inpatient Palliative Care Unit at Moses campus. The consultation teams are staffed by BE/BC attending physicians, nurse practitioners, social workers, and a chaplain, and an art therapist.
The Palliative Care and Hospice Unit has 15 bed capacity and patient care provided by Palliative Care specialists who are committed to provide high quality and compassionate care for patients facing serious illness.
What is Palliative Medicine?
Palliative Medicine is a field of medicine, and its goal is to relieve physical, emotional and spiritual suffering while preserving the psychosocial and physical functioning of the patients and their families to the fullest extent possible, and according to the individual patient’s goals and aspirations.
Who needs Palliative Care?
Palliative Care can be provided at any stage of the disease, from diagnosis through survivorship or the end of life.
It is appropriate for those with cancer and non-cancer diagnoses. Excellent knowledge of pain and non-pain symptom management, initiating conversations regarding patient’s understanding of disease trajectory, their values and beliefs, and their goals and wishes for end of life care are the key components of palliative care approach. These goals of care and advance care planning discussions should happen early rather than at the end of life, and should be ongoing as a person’s needs and preferences may change.
When is Palliative Care Needed?
Palliative Care may be provided at all healthcare settings including hospitals, primary care clinics, homes, and long-term care facilities, hospice facilities.
Our Goals:
- Educate and train health professionals to provide generalist level or specialist level palliative care across the continuum,
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Embed a patient and family-centered approach in palliative care
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Promote palliative care as appropriate across the cancer journey as a seamless experience
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Develop evidence-based pathways for palliative care
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Provide support to patients and their caregivers in navigating transitions in health care system
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Ensure equitable access to palliative care for all, including vulnerable and underserved populations in our communities
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Ensure that every terminally ill patient has access to effective pain and symptom management
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Increase the health system's capacity to deliver palliative care by collaborating with clinicians and administrators
Palliative Care Team
Leadership and Administration
Serife Eti, M.D.Medical Director
Palliative Medicine Program
Associate Professor, Family and Social Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
3347 Steuben Ave
Bronx, NY 10467
Tel. 718.920.6378
Fax. 718.881.6054
E-mail:
seti@montefiore.org
Physicians Faculty
Nidhi Shah, M.D.
Program Director, Fellowship Program in Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Assistant Professor, Family and Social Medicine
Phone: 718.920.6378
E-mail:
nisha@montefiore.org
Non-Physician Faculty
Advanced Practice Nurse Leadership in Palliative Care
Bernadette Huvane, MSN, FNP-BC, RNC-BC
Family Nurse PractitionerMontefiore Medical Center
Department of Family and Social Medicine, Palliative Medicine
Phone: 718.920.6378
E-mail:
bhuvane@montefiore.org
Marlene E. McHugh, ACHPN, FPCN, DNP, FNP-BC
Family Nurse PractitionerMontefiore Medical Center, Palliative Medicine
Phone:718.920.3789
E-mail:
mmchugh@montefiore.org 
Jessica Nymeyer, MSN RN, AGACNP, ACHPN, CCRN
Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
Montefiore Medical Center
Department of Family and Social Medicine, Palliative Medicine
Phone:718.920.6378
E-mail:
jenymeyer@montefiore.org
Palliative Care Physician Assistants
Felecia Slade, LPA
Inpatient Unit, NW7
Ada Izquierdo, LPA
Beverly Zabriskie, LPA
Inpatient Unit, North West 7
Palliative Care Service
Montefiore Medical Center
111E 210 St.
Bronx, NY, 10467
Tel. 718 920 4076 or 7441
Palliative Care Social Workers
Christina Ramirez, LMSW
Tel: 718.920.6541
Chaplain
Healing Arts Program
Research and Quality Improvement
Tanya Nair Cocchia
Clinical Practice Manager ‐ Wound Healing &
Palliative Care Programs
Department of Family &
Social Medicine
Montefiore Medical Center
3335 Steuben Ave
Bronx, NY 10467
Tel: (718) 920‐6357
Mobile: (917) 841‐6601
Fax: (718) 515‐0295
Ashley Hunter
Sr. Secretary II
Department of Family and Social Medicine
Palliative Medicine
Montefiore Medical Center
3347 Steuben Ave
Tel: 718-920-6378
Fax: 718-881-6054