Community PedsCare – Specialized Support & Care for Pediatric Patients
Community PedsCare® is a nationally recognized pediatric program for children in Northeast and North Central Florida living with complex, chronic, life-limiting, or advanced illnesses. Employing a family-centered approach to care, Community PedsCare specializes in palliative and hospice care for children prenatal to age 21. Through in-home, hospital, and additional support, our pediatric team enhances the lives of children and their families through compassion, expertise, and holistic care.
The Community PedsCare Team
Children living with progressive illnesses or who have suffered from sudden injury face a multitude of needs and their families often face difficult decisions and stresses. The Community PedsCare team is there for the entire family with a team of pediatric interdisciplinary caregivers.
Our licensed clinical social workers and spiritual support team help parents and siblings who are dealing with the strain of illness. Social workers also help families build a legacy and help parents secure resources.
We understand children benefit from playing, that’s why we provide a unique combination of expressive care therapies that help us meet the unique needs of every child. Our music therapists use music to help children with coping, stress, improve self-esteem and provide a creative outlet for self-expression. Our pet therapy program helps children, and their families find comfort, reduce stress, and increase sensory stimulation.
Certified Child Life Specialists support patients through many helpful skills, including activity modification, outlets for self-expression and building self-esteem. They work closely with children to help them deal with the struggles of feeling different from their peers and provide intervention and support through activities which exercise autonomy and creativity.
The Community PedsCare Clinical team includes our Pediatrician, APRN, Registered Nurse and therapist. They help bridge the gap between our families and the medical community, coordinating care with the child’s doctor and other care services.
Pediatric Palliative Care
Community PedsCare provides specialized pediatric palliative care for children with serious, complex, and chronic medical conditions and their families. This begins from the time of initial diagnosis throughout the course of their condition. Palliative care focuses on preventing or relieving the physical, emotional, social, psychological, spiritual distress, grief and loss of a serious illness or condition on the child and family. The goal is to improve the child and family’s quality of life, helping the child, their siblings and extended families live as normally as possible.
Pediatric Hospice Care
Community PedsCare provides specialized pediatric hospice care for children. Our focus is on improving children's and families' quality of life. Managing advanced illness and multiple complicated medical diagnoses can feel challenging. Our pediatric team is here to ensure that your family feels well supported during these uncertain times. Inviting the Community PedsCare team to walk with your family side-by-side during advanced illness does not mean end-of-life but an opportunity to live life to the fullest.
Concurrent Care
Community PedsCare provides children, from birth to age 21 who are covered by Medicaid or Florida’s Children’s Health Insurance Program, and are eligible for hospice services, to receive comfort care under their hospice benefit and continue to focus on curative, disease-changing interventions, and therapies
Prenatal Care Program
The Community PedsCare prenatal program specializes in helping parents who have been told during pregnancy that their baby has a medically complex or life-threatening condition. Our team provides these families with support and guidance from the time of diagnosis and walks with parents through the process of decision making before and after birth. The goal is to give parents the opportunity to express their goals and wishes for the baby’s care.
The Prenatal Care team is composed of physicians, ARNP, nurses, social workers, child life specialists and spiritual specialists who provide specialized support to families.
How Do I Request Community PedsCare Services?
Children may be referred by health and other child-serving professionals and organizations, clergy, family members and legal guardians. All referrals must be approved in consultation with the child’s primary care physician and accepted by the parent or caregiver.