SPOTLIGHT
In It for the Long Haul Team assists pediatric patients and families facing chronic illness. Children’s Hospital of Greenville Health System offers palliative care through the services of the Supportive Care Team, which helps patients whose conditions cause frequent and/or lengthy hospitalizations. The team’s purpose covers a wide range of situations and needs— or, in the words of Cary Stroud, MD, its medical director, to “address the psychosocial needs of children and families with chronic illnesses of uncertain outcome.” The Supportive Care Team addresses these challenges by combining disciplines and backgrounds. Dr. Stroud served as medical director of the hospital’s BI-LO Charities Children’s Cancer Center for several years before he helped develop this team. Other team members include a nurse practitioner experienced in pediatric hematology/oncology and transplant patients, a clinical psychologist, a nurse coordinator, a chaplain and two child life specialists. The Supportive Care Team meets each morning to determine which patients need what services that day. Many families who receive the services of the Supportive Care Team are those with babies in the NICU. Sometimes, before the baby is even born, the team helps families start coping when they receive a diagnosis that will lead to an extended hospitalization or chronic illness. If the baby is not expected to live long, the team works with the parents to outline their desires for the moments immediately after birth and provide memory-making activities for siblings.
Sarah Pierce, CCLS, a child life specialist with the Supportive Care Team, uses a special doll to help Sam Esteban understand how his port works.
For patients with long-term chronic conditions, the circumstances of their hospitalizations may change over the months and years—what unit they are in and which specialists they see, for example—but Supportive Care Team members will be a constant. They are the ones who know the patient and family and can help bring everything together for them. One goal for growth of the program is to expand bereavement support for families when their child does not survive. Another goal is to add a social worker. Currently, team members cover these functions in addition to their regular duties. And while the team’s services are available on an inpatient basis only, team members hope to one day offer an outpatient clinic for children who have chronic conditions but are healthy enough to be cared for at home. To achieve these goals, team members are dependent on philanthropy. Under the general model for a pediatric palliative care program, a third of the support comes from hospital systems, a third from charges for services and a third from philanthropy. For more information about the Supportive Care Team, visit ghschildrens.org/supportive-care or call (864) 546-8955. For information on giving, visit ghsgiving.org. For information on the palliative care program for adults, click here.
Inside Health 2