Pediatric Supportive & Palliative Care

Overview

Pediatric Supportive & Palliative Care at Mass General for Children (MGfC) supports children with chronic, life-threatening or life-limiting illnesses and their families by enhancing their quality of life. Our team offers support to children with serious conditions and their families anywhere along their illness course, including families facing pregnancies complicated by genetic disorders or congenital malformations. We work with your child’s primary and specialist teams to provide the best possible care. Our team aims to identify your family’s goals and values, ease distressing symptoms, optimize quality of life, and improve communication between care teams and families. We also help families navigate the best treatment choices for them and their child.

Our team is primarily an inpatient consultative service made up of pediatric palliative care doctors and a pediatric nurse practitioner. The Pediatric Supportive & Palliative Care team collaborates closely with your child’s care providers within MGfC as well as those in the community. Key providers we work closely with may include your child’s primary care physician, subspecialists, nurses, child life specialists, spiritual care providers, physical, occupational and speech therapists and many others.

While your child is in the hospital, their medical providers may invite our service to join your child’s care team. When your child is being seen in an outpatient setting, providers may also consult or refer children to our service. If you are interested in seeing if palliative care may benefit your child’s treatment, please call our office at 617-643-9079 and leave a message. We will return your call to determine if, and how, our team may be helpful.

Programs

MGfC Center for Courageous Kids

Our Pediatric Supportive & Palliative Care team, alongside the Coordinated Care Clinic, has received funding to create the Center for Courageous Kids. This center provides multidisciplinary, compassionate care for children with complex medical needs and life-limiting illnesses. The aim of the center is to improve the quality of life for these children and their families.

No Empty Bedsides

We are grateful for No Empty Bedsides, a volunteer fundraising organization providing financial support to parents and families of hospitalized children cared for by Supportive & Palliative Care. No Empty Bedsides assists with the cost of public transportation, parking fees, and backup care for the hospitalized child’s siblings. It helps to ensure that every child has a loved one by their side during a hospital stay.

Patient & Families Resources

Community Resources

Bereavement Resources

Brittany Kelly, NP
Nurse Practitioner, Pediatric Supportive and Palliative Care

Kristin Charest, RN, BSN
Nurse, Pediatric Supportive and Palliative Care