Jennifer Hwang

Integration of palliative care into the care of children with serious illness.

1. Tammy I. Kang, MD, MSCE* 2. David Munson, MD* 3. Jennifer Hwang, MD, MHS* 4. Chris Feudtner, MD, PhD, MPH* 1. *The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA * Abbreviations: AAP: : American Academy of Pediatrics CCC: : concurrent care for children NICU: : neonatal intensive care unit PPC: : pediatric palliative care The 2013 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Policy Statement “Pediatric Palliative Care and Hospice Care: Commitments, Guidelines, and Recommendations” urges broader integration of palliative care into overall medical care plans not only for terminally ill infants and children but also for those with life-threatening or life-shortening illnesses. Despite supportive federal legislation, the AAP recommendations have not been implemented consistently because of inadequate training, lack of funding, entrenched professional attitudes, and lack of an evidence base for assessments and interventions. To overcome these barriers, pediatric health care clinicians should educate themselves, their patients, their practices, and their health care systems on the benefits of earlier palliative care intervention. During the past decade the field of pediatric palliative care (PPC) has transformed. Palliative care services, once thought to be suitable only for patients in the last stages of life or reserved for patients engaging hospice services, are now being used much more broadly. No longer restricted to just the provision of end-of-life care, palliative care for children is now best understood as encompassing a combination of medical, psychosocial, and spiritual care that enables children with serious, life-threatening illnesses to maximize quality of life while making medical decisions based on the goals and values of the patient and family. Integrating palliative care into the overall plan of medical care for children with serious illness is a key therapeutic goal. In 2013, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published a policy statement entitled “Pediatric Palliative Care and Hospice Care: Commitments, Guidelines, and Recommendations” that aimed to promote the welfare of infants and children living with life-threatening or inevitably life-shortening conditions and their …

Add Your Voice: Vetting the Entrustable Professional Activities for HPM Physicians (TH335)

1994 to 2003, the PDIA created funding initiatives in professional and public education, the arts, research, clinical care, and public policy that transformed care for patients living with serious illnesses in the United States. Four PDIA Awards will be presented: the AAHPM PDIA Palliative Medicine National Leadership Award, the AAHPM PDIA Palliative Medicine Community Leadership Award, the HPNF PDIA Nursing Leadership Award in Palliative Care, and the SWPHN PDIA Career Achievement Award. Award recipients will participate in panel presentations on topics such as career trajectory, lessons learned, and take-away ‘‘pearls’’ for the attendees.

Pediatric Oncology 911: What Palliative Care and Hospice Providers Should Know About Caring for Children with Progressive Cancer (TH304)

Pediatric Oncology 911: What Palliative Care and Hospice Providers Should Know About Caring for Children with Progressive Cancer (TH304) Jennifer Hwang, MD MHS, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA. Tammy Kang, MD, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA. Rosanna Pollack, MSN RN PNP-BC, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA. (All authors listed above had no relevant financial relationships to disclose.)