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Palliative care

Dell Children’s provides compassionate and family-centered palliative care services for children and families.

Child receiving palliative care for a serious illness.

Palliative care at Dell Children’s

Dell Children’s Medical Center provides compassionate and family-centered palliative care services to children and families facing a serious illness. This care provides an extra layer of support for children facing a chronic and complex or life-threatening illness. Our experienced palliative care team helps manage pain and other distressing symptoms while also providing emotional and spiritual support for your child and family.

A part of your child’s multidisciplinary care team

The palliative care team at Dell Children’s works in collaboration with other members of your child’s care team to carefully create a care plan that addresses the specific needs of your child and family. Our programs are able to provide support across different locations of care and stages of illness. We are even able to bring palliative care to your home through our programs with Dell Children’s at Home. Although different team members may provide palliative care support at different times, our team meets regularly to discuss and coordinate your family’s care plan.

Frequently asked questions about palliative care

  • What is palliative care?
  • Does accepting palliative care mean our family is giving up on other treatments?
  • If we start palliative care, can my child still see the same primary care doctor or pediatrician?
  • How is hospice different from palliative care?
  • When should I ask for palliative care for my child?
  • How can I request a referral?

Meet our care team

Leadership and administrative team:

  • Aileen L. Bolliger, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, NEA-BC
  • Rachel Carnahan-Metzger, LCSW
  • Logan Jenkins, MBA, CPA
  • Patrick Jones, MD, HMDC, FAAP
  • Angelina Mendez, BSHA
  • Joselyn Quintero, MHA, LNFA
  • Kathryn Russell, RN

Medical provider team:

  • Tyler Badding, MD
  • Patrick Jones, MD, HMDC, FAAP
  • Natasha Lee, MD
  • Dianna Yip, DO, SEP, FAAP
  • Laura Cummins, RN, CPNP-PC, CHPPN
  • Lisa Lam, RN, CPNP-PC, CHPPN

Nursing team:

  • Naomi Berry, RN, BSN
  • Mary Fassnacht, RN, BSN
  • Cristy Holmes, RN
  • Rebecca Meneses, RN, BSN, CPN, CPMT, CHPPN
  • Kristin Partyka, RN, BSN
  • Jerra Pyka, RN, BSN
  • Kathryn Russell, RN

Psychosocial-spiritual team:

  • Rachel Carnahan-Metzger, LCSW
  • Lauren Cosby, MS, CCLS
  • Heather Eppelheimer, CCLS, CPLC
  • Caroline Gold, LMSW
  • Brandon Morgan, PhD, MDiv
  • Emily Neie, LMSW

Contact us

If you are a parent or caregiver of a child with a serious illness:

  • For general questions about pediatric palliative care at Dell Children’s, please call our office at 512-324-0197.
  • For questions about our perinatal palliative care and pediatric hospice programs, please call the main line for Dell Children’s at Home at 833-628-2112 and select option 1.

If you are a healthcare provider:

  • For our inpatient consult service
    • Medical provider coverage is found on Voalte ("Home" > "On-Call Schedule" > "DCMC" > "DCMC Palliative Care").
    • Providers without Voalte may call our office at 512-324-0197. If outside typical business hours, please call Medlink at 512-323-5465 and request the on-call provider for pediatric palliative care.
  • For clinic and virtual visits
    • If you would like to discuss a potential referral or a current palliative care patient that is not hospitalized, please call our office at 512-324-0197. If outside typical business hours, please call Medlink at 512-323-5465 and request the on-call provider for pediatric palliative care.
    • Referrals may be sent to our program by fax to 512-969-6537 or electronically via Athena by ordering “Palliative Medicine Referral” and selecting “Dell Children’s Pediatric Palliative Care” as the receiving provider.
  • For perinatal palliative care and pediatric hospice
    • Please call the main line for Dell Children’s at Home at 833-628-2112 and select option 1