Our goal is to relieve the suffering and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

Supporting our patient’s primary treating physician, who is continually updated, we work to manage and alleviate pain and other acute physical symptoms; explain diagnoses, treatment options, and their risks and benefits; relieve stress and anxiety; help you plan for the future; connect you with necessary resources; and make your life easier in general.

Each patient is assigned one of our specially trained nurses who becomes their primary at-home palliative care provider, supported by the appropriate Balsam team members (physicians, psychologist, social worker…), and fully respecting the patient’s wishes, values, and beliefs.

While we do also provide hospice or end-of-life care, it is important to understand that palliative care is not restricted to the dying or the elderly. It is intended for anyone living with a serious illness, regardless of age or the stage of the disease. This includes children, for whom we are continually expanding our pediatric palliative care program and services. 

Our support extends beyond hospice care through our specialized bereavement program. Should a patient receiving our care pass away, our team continues to support and guide the family through loss and grief for a minimum of one year.

Serious Illnesses

  • Cancers: All types, including leukemia and lymphoma
  • Cardiac Diseases: Congestive heart failure (CHF), cardiomyopathy, and congenital heart disease
  • Chronic Lung Diseases: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary fibrosis, and emphysema
  • Neurological Conditions: Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), stroke, and multiple sclerosis (MS)
  • Organ Failure & Chronic Illness: Kidney (renal) failure and liver disease
  • Other Serious Conditions: Congenital anomalies, genetic disorders, and autoimmune diseases

Behind the Scenes

Parallel to our main activity, that of providing free comprehensive palliative care services within the home environment, we work tirelessly in research, capacity building, and advocacy to realize our vision: ensure that palliative care is accessible to all.

Capacity Building

The idea is to enable the provision of palliative care at greater capacity: helping a greater number of patients in a greater number of regions and making greater positive impact. This is done through securing and improving the required skills, knowledge, tools, equipment, and other resources.

Practically, we develop and implement conferences, courses, workshops, and training in collaboration with internationally recognized educators in palliative care. We also work to integrate the concepts of palliative care into the curricula of medical and nursing schools, and we assist institutions and healthcare teams in establishing palliative care programs by serving as a source of information and technical support.​

  • Introduction to Palliative Care and Advanced Palliative Care Workshop, March 2017 | In collaboration with Dr Frank Ferris, Executive Director of Palliative Medicine, Research and Education at Ohio Health
  • Advanced Palliative Care Workshop, August 2016
  • Capacity Building at Ain WaZein Hospital (AWH), 2015-2016 | With the support of the Ministry of Public Health and the WHO, and in collaboration with Dr Frank Ferris
  • Palliative Care in the Whole Patient, a 4-week module within the Physicians, Patients, and Society course at the AUB Medical School, since 2014
  • Leadership Development for Hospital-Based Palliative Care, 2014
  • Palliative care services begin at the AUBMC, 2013

Advocacy

To realize our vision of making palliative care available and accessible to everyone across Lebanon, we work beyond direct service delivery and capacity building. We actively advocate for palliative care at the policy level, engaging in ongoing dialog with the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOEHE), and spearheading initiatives to integrate palliative care into insurance coverage.
  • We led efforts to enable local production of morphine, ensuring that the medications necessary for pain management remain affordable, available, and accessible to patients who need them, 2023
  • We played a key role in the establishment of the Lebanese Palliative Care Society under the Lebanese Order of Physicians, 2023
  • We contributed to the MOPH National Cancer Plan for 2023-2028, playing a key role in the development and implementation of the chapter on palliative care.
  • We were instrumental in the establishment of the Lebanese Palliative Care Nursing Association under the Order of Nurses in Lebanon, April 2023
  • Our efforts contributed to the MOPH issuing a decree that makes palliative care services reimbursable (2019), and we continue to work towards the enforcement of that decree.
  • We led the efforts that resulted in the MOPH issuing a decree that recognizes Palliative Medicine as a medical specialty, June 2013
  • We played a critical role in the establishment of the National Committee for Pain Control and Palliative Care (NCPCPC) under the Ministry of Public Health, May 2011

Research

Expanding the knowledge base through research is crucial to the advancement of palliative care, whether in practice, training, or policy. Accordingly, we are committed to strengthening this knowledge by conducting and contributing to scientific and practical research in palliative care and by sharing our experiences and outcomes.

  • The Balsam model: A paper describing the experience of delivering palliative care services in a low-resource setting compounded by financial and political instability in Lebanon.  (2025)
  • Provision of spiritual care: This study explored approaches to delivery of spiritual care (a key component of palliative care) in the Lebanese context. (2025)
  • Cost savings associated with palliative care hospital consultations: This study was part of the efforts to provide local data to advocate for the integration of palliative care into health insurance policies. (2022)
  • Palliative care for marginalized populations: Findings of a national roundtable discussion conducted in collaboration with LEBMASH (a leader in health equity and the sexual health of marginalized populations). (2021)
  • Study of telehealth: This study demonstrated the value of palliative care even when delivered at a distance. (2020)
  • IMPACT study: Supported by GlobeMed, the study aimed to generate data on the cost implications of home-based palliative care, an important first step towards integrating palliative care into the Lebanese healthcare system. (2015-2017)
  • Mapping palliative care in the Eastern Mediterranean: This study was done in collaboration with Drs. Arafat Tfaily and Alaa Rihan at AUBMC and Dr. Carlos Centeno of Universidad De Navarra in Pamplona, Spain. (2014-2017)
  • Setting practice standards: This paper in the Lebanese Medical Journal described the practice standards for palliative care set by the National Committee on Pain Control and Palliative Care at the Ministry of Public Health. (2013)

Your support makes it all possible.

Help us continue providing free, at-home palliative care and advancing a future where palliative care is available to all.