Hospitals offer comfort, even if there's no cure

Nationwide, more than 1,300 hospitals offer palliative care, including 50 percent of facilities with more than 75 beds, according to an analysis by the American Hospital Association. That's double the number of programs in 2000. Today, nearly 30 hospitals in Tennessee provide palliative care, including Vanderbilt, Saint Thomas Hospital, Baptist Hospital and the Department of Veterans Affairs system.