For most people, it’s an uncomfortable topic, one they’d rather not talk about or, in many cases, even think about.
But the new director of St. Tammany Health System’s Palliative Care program sees death differently.
“Death is inevitable. We’re all headed to that point,” said Dr. Farah Ali, DO. “And it’s so much harder for a patient and their family when it’s right at the end, they’re unprepared for it and everything is hitting them like a bag of bricks.”
It doesn’t have to be that way, though – which is where Palliative Care comes in, to help patients who have serious, even terminal medical conditions plan for the inevitable.
In the process, they get an opportunity to optimize their quality of life for the time they have left, including alleviating symptoms like pain and shortness of breath in serious illness. But additionally, Palliative Care can help prepare patients’ families plan for their eventual passing and, hopefully, relieve everyone of that whole bag-of-bricks feeling.
“I’m really excited to be at a health system that really strives to deliver compassionate care,” Dr. Ali said. “Literally, our mission statement at St. Tammany is about compassionate care, and that’s what palliative care is about. It’s such a good fit.”
That emphasis on compassion at St. Tammany Health System is part of what prompted Dr. Ali to pack her bags and make the move to the Bayou State.
Born and raised in the Atlanta area, she attended medical school at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Suwannee, Georgia. Upon graduation, she completed an internal medicine residency at Grady Hospital through Morehouse School of Medicine, followed by a hospice and palliative medicine fellowship at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
She is board certified in internal medicine and is a member of an array of professional societies, including the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, and the Center to Advance Palliative Care.
“I kind of always knew I wanted to practice palliative medicine,” Dr. Ali said. “It was an interest of mine back when I was in medical school, so I used that time to find out if palliative was right for me. I only continued to feel stronger and stronger about that calling.”
And that’s exactly how she sees her posting at St. Tammany Health System. It’s not just a job. It’s not just a career. It’s a calling.
“It’s a privilege and an honor to be a part of such an intimate moment for patients and their families, when they’re making such serious decisions about what’s most important to them and what gives them meaning in their life and what they want the end to look like,” she said.
Away from work, Dr. Ali enjoys traveling – including a trip to the World Cup late last year – as well as playing tennis and spending time with her family.
In fact, her family’s influence can be credited with sending her down the path that ultimately led her to practicing palliative medicine at St. Tammany Health System.
“I have an amazing family,” she said. “They inspire me to be kind and be humble and work hard for other people.”
Learn more about St. Tammany Health System’s Palliative care program at StTammany.health/Palliative.