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
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What is palliative care?
Palliative (pronounced pal-lee-uh-tiv) care is care focused on improving quality of life and minimizing the suffering of children with advanced, complex and life-threatening illnesses. Palliative care providers, nurses, social workers, chaplains, and certified child life specialists work closely with your child’s doctor and team to help manage pain and symptoms, set goals, and coordinate care in inpatient, outpatient and home settings.
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Does accepting palliative care mean our family is giving up on other treatments?
Your child can receive palliative care along with other treatments. The purpose of palliative care is to help ease your child’s pain and other symptoms while providing emotional and other support to your entire family. In fact, your child can start getting palliative care as soon as you learn about your child’s illness. Palliative care can help all children, from newborns to young adults, and their families when a child is diagnosed with a serious illness.
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If we start palliative care, can my child still see the same primary care doctor or pediatrician?
Yes. Your child does not have to change to a new primary care doctor or pediatrician when palliative care begins. The palliative care team and your child’s doctor work with you to decide on the best care plan for your child and family.
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How is hospice different from palliative care?
Hospice is a robust set of home-based palliative care services designed to support children and their families when a serious illness becomes life-threatening. Children can receive the support of a pediatric hospice program when one of their providers becomes concerned that death from their underlying illness may occur within the next six months.
The Affordable Care Act mandates that patients under age 21 may continue to receive curative or life-prolonging treatments while enrolled in a pediatric hospice program. This insurance requirement is referred to as the Concurrent Care for Children Requirement, and while the law only applies to children enrolled in their state Medicaid program, most private insurance providers will also honor this model of hospice care. Additional information about the Concurrent Care for Children Requirement can be found on the website for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
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When should I ask for palliative care for my child?
Palliative care is appropriate for all ages and at any stage of a serious illness. But we recommend requesting palliative care early in your child’s illness. The sooner you request palliative care, the sooner we can create a care plan that helps manage your child’s pain and symptoms, and the emotions that may come with a serious illness. You can ask your child’s doctor about scheduling a palliative care consultation.
Meet our care team
Leadership and administrative team:
- Aileen L. Bolliger, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, NEA-BC
- Angelina Mendez, BSHA
- Kathryn Russell, RN
Medical provider team:
- Tyler Badding, MD
- Natasha Lee, MD
- Dianna Yip, DO, SEP, FAAP
- Laura Cummins, RN, CPNP-PC, CHPPN
Nursing team:
- Cristy Holmes, RN
- Rebecca Meneses, RN, BSN, CPN, CPMT, CHPPN
- Kristin Partyka, RN, BSN
- Jerra Pyka, RN, BSN
- Kathryn Russell, RN
- Rachel Weaber, RN
- Patricia Cooper, RN
Psychosocial-spiritual team:
- Heather Eppelheimer, CCLS, CPLC
- 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 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