We treat kids, not just conditions
We treat children living with a vast array of serious medical conditions and symptoms, but our focus is entirely on helping kids feel better. Our services are available for all infants, children and adolescents who are living with serious illness and distressing symptoms, no matter what the cause.
We can help Children’s Minnesota patient families with the following:
- Communication between multiple care teams
- Treatment plans or when treatments are becoming increasingly burdensome
- Children are being hospitalized more often than usual
- The child’s family could use help choosing medical options that reflect their values
- The child’s condition is declining
- There is a need for advanced pain and symptom treatment
- The time seems right for an added layer of support
We take care of all pediatric age groups and their families, including:
- Premature infants
- Newborns
- Infants
- Toddlers
- School-aged children
- Adolescents
- Young adults
Patients that Children’s Minnesota take care of might have an underlying condition of:
- Cancer (e.g., brain tumor, leukemia)
- Neurologic disorders (e.g., intractable seizures)
- Heart disease (e.g., congenital heart defects)
- Metabolic disorders (e.g., urea cycle disorders)
- Complications of prematurity (e.g., pulmonary hypertension)
Palliative home care: Making the most out of every day
For the children, teens and young adults living with complex medical conditions, our team provides customized care so that a child may stay at home with their family. Our home-based support is provided comprehensively by a team of medical providers, specially trained home nurses, a child-life specialist, a medical social worker and spiritual care provider who are dedicated to enhancing quality of life and comfort for your child. Unlike end-of-life care, patients still receive cure-directed treatments alongside home-based palliative care. Our goal is to promote hope, assist in medical decision-making and provide high-quality symptom relief in the comfort of your home.
Hospice home care: Finding meaning and creating memories
Caring for your child at the end of life is, for many families, unimaginable. The hospice program, a part of the holistic palliative care program offers multifaceted support throughout this intimate time at home. End-of-life care for a child is often an emotional, physical and spiritual experience all tied together. We inspire healing with our pediatric-specific, interdisciplinary team, consisting of physicians, advanced practice nurses, a child life specialist and more.
Our comprehensive program offers continuous care for children in the hospital, clinic and at home. Our goal is to provide personalized support for coping, processing and reframing, including legacy-building through the creation of meaningful memories. In addition to ensuring your child is comfortable, our child life team helps other children in the home navigate difficult situations. Pediatric hospice care offers concurrent care, meaning that our patients can receive hospice care while continuing curative treatments. Our team supports you and your family in setting goals and making informed medical decisions that align with your child’s needs.
In the case of a child’s death, hospice staff provide a bereavement follow-up to families who have been served in either the home-based hospice or palliative care program. Families are offered ongoing psychosocial support, typically from social work, child life and spiritual care. Additionally, we refer families to Children’s Minnesota Bereavement Services.
Here’s what makes the home care program uniquely qualified to help your child.
Child life
Our child life specialist supports you and your family as you navigate living with a complex illness. With expertise in using child development for education and emotional goal setting, we are here to make your family’s experience less intimidating. Some of the child life team’s tools include:
- Preparing for treatment
- Preparing for medical procedures and associated anxieties through conversation and demonstration.
- Discussing diagnosis with children and siblings.
- Helping parents navigate complex conversations.
- Navigate transitions back to school
- Collaborating with schools to navigate in-school treatment and safety considerations such as emergency preparedness and situational awareness.
- Accessible transportation coordination.
- Supporting legacy-building activities such as:
- A family mold of hands.
- Children’s book creation.
- Cookbooks.
- Scrapbooks.
- Candle making.
Social work
Parenting a child experiencing pain or other distressing symptoms is difficult. Our clinical social workers empower parents and guardians with the tools they need to address their child’s symptoms. Some of their roles include:
- Connecting families to funding resources for:
- Personal care assistants and other home health providers.
- Monthly bills including mortgage and rent payments.
- Local food resources.
- Connecting families with mental health services to assess their own emotional coping.
Spiritual care
Our spiritual care providers deliver emotional and spiritual support to our patients and their families. They provide compassionate presence and support while a child is experiencing medical difficulties. Some of their roles include:
- Connecting families with others in their community including faith and spiritual leaders for support that best fits you.
- Provide grief and bereavement services
