Community Hospice & Palliative Care Announces the Launch of their Signature Pediatric Palliative and Hospice Care Program, Community PēdsCare, in North Central Florida

Press release from Community Hospice & Palliative Care

Community Hospice & Palliative Care announces the launch of their signature pediatric palliative and hospice care program, Community PēdsCare, in North Central Florida. Founded in 2000 in Northeast Florida, this nationally recognized program has helped thousands of children from prenatal to age 21 living with complex, chronic, life-limiting, and advancing illness at no cost to the family.

“Our goal has always been to bring the Community PedsCare program to North Central Florida,” said Phillip Ward, President and Chief Executive Officer 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.”

Since expanding its service area in 2017 from Northeast Florida to North Central Florida, Community Hospice & Palliative Care has established offices in Alachua, Columbia, and Putnam counties, hired and trained area staff to support the expansion, partnered with localized health systems and providers, and created the only community-based palliative care program in North Central Florida.

With the launch of Community PedsCare in North Central Florida, Community Hospice & Palliative Care is now the only agency to provide hospice and palliative care for children and adults throughout its entire 16-county service area. Another first is the July 1, 2021, selection of Community Hospice & Palliative Care as the only Partners in Care: Together for Kids (PIC:TFK) provider in North Central Florida. PIC:TFK is offered by the Agency for Health Care Administration, the Florida Department of Health, and the Florida Hospice and Palliative Care Association. This specialized program provides care, comfort, and support in partnership with the child’s healthcare provider and the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Health Plan. Community Hospice & Palliative Care has always been the only PIC:TFK provider in Northeast Florida but is now excited to expand its services to North Central Florida.

Community PedsCare clinicians are specially trained to care for the unique needs of children and their families from prenatal to age 21 with life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses. The program is supported by expert physicians, nurses, social workers, and child life specialists, whose goal is create a better quality of life for pediatric patients, their families, and the community-at-large in partnership with area health systems and pediatric care providers.

Updated on August 20; press release was corrected to change year in which PedsCare was founded.

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