Pediatric Palliative Care

Lindsay B. Ragsdale · Elissa G. Miller

Feb 2020 · Oxford University Press

About this ebook

The first volume in the "What Do I Do Now?: Palliative Care" series, Pediatric Palliative Care uses a case-based palliative care approach to cover common and important topics in the examination, investigation, and management of children with serious illness. Each chapter provides a discussion of the diagnosis, key points to remember, and selected references for further reading. The book addresses a wide range of topics, including the goals of care, symptom management, care for neonatal and adolescent populations, and the emotional, social, cultural and spiritual needs of ill children and their families. Written by authors from a variety of fields such as nursing, chaplaincy, social work, and psychology, this book is suited for pediatricians, palliative care and hospice providers, nurses, and allied health practitioners. Pediatric Palliative Care is an engaging collection of thought-provoking cases which clinicians can utilize when they encounter difficult patients. The volume is also a self-assessment tool that tests the reader's ability to answer the question, "What do I do now?"

About the author

Dr. Lindsay Ragsdale is an Associate Professor in Pediatrics and is the Division Chief of Pediatric Palliative Care at Kentucky Children's Hospital at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, KY. She completed her residency and chief resident training at the University of Kentucky and completed her pediatric Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellowship at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She is a fellow in the American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She has been an active physician leader at the University of Kentucky since 2013. She has been active in Kentucky to improve access to palliative care by helping to establish the Kentucky Pediatric Palliative Care Coalition. She is a leader in Pediatric Palliative Medicine at the national level and has served as the Pediatric Special Interest Group Chair and Communities Committee Chair for the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She has published articles and chapters and given numerous lectures about communication, trauma informed care, and the practice of Pediatric Palliative Care. She is passionate about the comprehensive care of children with serious illness and their families and advocates for improved quality of life and goal concordant care. Dr. Elissa Miller is a Clinical Associate Professor in Pediatrics at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA, and Chief of the Division of Palliative Medicine at Nemours/Alfred I duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE. She completed her residency training at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, PA, and went on to complete a fellowship in Pediatric Hospice and Palliative Medicine also at the Children's Hospital for Philadelphia. She is a fellow in the American academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Dr. Miller has been an active physician leader at Nemours since 2011. She developed the hospital's first pediatric palliative care program and quickly helped establish a fellowship training program for physicians interested in joining the field of hospice and palliative medicine. She is the president elect of the medical staff at AI duPont Hospital for Children and working to actively improve the quality of care provided to all children in the state of Delaware. Dr. Miller is a leader in Pediatric Palliative Care nationally, as well. She was elected to serve as a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Hospice and Palliative Medicine executive committee. She has published articles and chapters about the practice of Pediatric Palliative Care and pediatric palliative care program development. She is passionate about the comprehensive care of children with serious illness and their families and advocates for improved quality of life and goal concordant care.