Community Hospice & Palliative Care, an affiliate of Alivia Care, is expanding its pediatric hospice and palliative care program, Community PedsCare, into the north-central region of Florida. Community PedsCare first launched in 2000 in the northeastern portion of the state, serving seriously ill patients from prenatal to age 21.
The majority of hospice patients are seniors by far, but providers are recognizing and responding to a growing need for pediatric services. As more families learn about the nature of hospice — and as more health care moves into the home setting — demand is escalating.
“Our goal has always been to bring the Community PedsCare program to north-central Florida,” said Phillip Ward, president and CEO of Community Hospice & Palliative Care. “These children require specialized pediatric needs and medical care, so we need to surround them and their families with the type of unique support, caring, and compassion they need to thrive.”
Community Hospice entered north-central Florida in 2017 and began offering palliative care in that area last summer.
The needs of seriously and terminally ill children are distinct from those of adults. Providers need specialist knowledge regarding medication dosing, specialized equipment and assistance with family dynamics and support.
Current data on pediatric hospice utilization are scarce, but indicators suggest that expansion of these services is underway throughout the hospice industry. The 2015 Institute of Medicine report “Dying in America” identified a significant increase in the proportion of pediatric deaths that occur in the home. This is part of a larger shift towards home-based care that has accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Children with serious illness comprise less than 10% of the U.S. population but account for at least 50% of hospital resources for youth patients, according to research by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
Childhood disease trajectories are often less predictable than those of adults, challenging the ability of physicians to predict the six-month prognosis typically involved in hospice care. This can lead to families avoiding hospice in favor of expensive and intensive medical interventions, though children are able to receive curative treatments concurrently, according to AAP.
Among U.S. states, 33 offer models for pediatric concurrent care — including services such as dialysis, chemotherapy, and medication, among others — in accordance with section 2302 of the Affordable Care Act, according to a Health Affairs study. The specifics of these models vary from state to state. Generally, these programs apply to patients 21-years-old or younger.
“Advocates of pediatric hospice care recognized that the strict choice between curative and hospice care was a significant barrier to enrollment in pediatric hospice services at the end of life,” the study authors wrote. “To overcome this barrier, in the 2000s several states demonstrated innovation in financing and care models and developed alternative pathways to enrollment in pediatric hospice that allowed children to continue to receive curative care.”
Community Hospice & Palliative Care is a subsidiary of Alivia Care. Alivia Care came into existence last year when Florida’s Community Hospice & Palliative Care rebranded into a larger company with a wider range of services, including PACE, home health and other services.
Companies featured in this article:
