Palliative Care

Promoting quality of life, healing, and an extra layer of support for children through their complex medical journey. Our center is staffed by:

• Physicians
• Pediatric nurse practitioners
• Social workers
• Child life specialists
• Creative arts therapists

Palliative care:

• Is different from treatment used to cure an illness. The goals of palliative care are to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life for a child with complex, chronic, serious or advanced illness.
• Ensures your child receives well integrated care while considering family’s non-medical needs
• Ensures integration of quality of life into medical plan for patient and patient’s family
• Families are given the opportunity to make decisions that are in line with their family values, traditions and culture. This improves the well-being of the entire family
• Benefits both your child and your family by relieving physical and emotional symptoms, as well as pain that can make facing serious illness so difficult for the child and the family
• Provides emotional, social, spiritual, and bereavement support for your child and your family
• Facilitates communications between your child, members of your family and your health care providers
• Promotes continuity of care

Professional Certification Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital is one of the only children’s hospitals in New Jersey with a pediatric palliative care program certified by Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations. That means that we provide a formal care program led by a team of specialists with advanced training in pediatric palliative care and a process to support coordination of care and communication among all providers in a hospital setting.  

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The Pediatric Palliative Care Team sees children for inpatients for inpatient consults, or outpatient clinic visits. During the consultation, we evaluate your child’s health and feelings, your family’s needs, and your care team’s medical plan in order to formulate recommendations. We are available to discuss communication with you primary team, pain and symptom issues, hospice and home care, psychological/spiritual stressors and care coordination.