Division of Pediatric Palliative Care
Message from the Chief
The Threads of Care Pediatric Palliative Care Team began at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in 2005. It has grown from 50-75 consults per year to more than 200 annually. Pediatric palliative care is multidisciplinary in nature and our team is composed of physicians, a social worker, a chaplain, a nurse practitioner and a music therapist. Our team is enhanced by hospice and palliative medicine fellows aiding in caring for our patients (link to our fellowship website).
Our attending physicians also care for the patients in our community-based home hospice and palliative care program, the Quality of Life for All Kids (QoLA) Program. There is an average census of 30 complex patients from Le Bonheur. This program has enabled many of our patients to decrease their emergency visits and hospital stays. This has been particularly financially advantageous for patients who have had very complex needs and prolonged admissions for which the hospital is not fully reimbursed after a certain duration of time.
Our faculty are involved in many initiatives across the campus. These range from medical ethics, early clinical medicine education for students and healthcare equity to name a few. Some of the research areas currently being pursued include condolence expression, palliative care involvement in patients with complex heart disease and determination of the impact of a diagnosis of Trisomy 18 on patient healthcare needs.
Faculty
Amanda Linz, MD, MS, FAAP
Division Chief
Assistant Professor
Pediatric Palliative Care
alinz@@uthsc.edu
Arshia Madni, MD
Program Director
Assistant Professor
Pediatric Palliative Care
amadni@uthsc.edu