VNA Children’s Haven Pediatric Hospice
VNA’s Children’s Haven Pediatric Program is committed to providing excellent care to pediatric patients and their families, and to helping families to establish goals of care in line with their desires and individual needs.
Pediatric Hospice Team Roles
Providing support to the family and patient by facilitating discussions regarding their medical journey, Medical Social Workers listen, explore ways of coping, and afford comfort. From offering community resources to discussing treatment decisions, the medical social
workers are an invaluable resource to families.
Using art, music, books, exercise and other types of play allow children to express how they feel about their illness. With specific knowledge of child development and psychology, the Child Life Specialists support children and their siblings by answering questions, correcting misconceptions, and validating and normalizing feelings.
The chaplain is skilled at providing spiritual guidance and support inclusive of all faiths and belief systems. The chaplain works with the family to create a safe space to share experiences and can give voice to thoughts and feelings. Working in conjunction with any family’s current faith community if desired, the chaplain can address spiritual questions and concerns, helping to claim meaning and find hope in a difficult time.
Serving as the main point of contact for patients and families, the Registered Nurses (RN) Case Managers provide clinical care and guidance alongside the patient’s physician. VNA nurses are available 24/7 to help with needs as they arise. The patient’s dedicated RN also serves as the Care Coordinator responsible for overseeing the patient’s overall plan of care. Trained in the art of symptom management, VNA nurses provide compassionate, hands-on clinical care as well as education to parents and caregivers.
As an invaluable member of the interdisciplinary hospice team, the Hospice Physician provides the medical expertise to manage care along with the child’s health care team. The Hospice Physician works closely with your child’s other physicians and specialists to ensure all team members are updated regularly and work together to develop the care plan.
At VNA, our Certified Hospice Aides support patients and their families in a variety of ways. Aides may help with bathing, dressing, and light housekeeping in addition to other unique needs to provide comfort and dignity through personalized care
INSURANCE ACCEPTED
- Medicare and Medicaid
- Managed Medicare
- Managed Medicaid
- Aetna
- Baylor Scott & White Insurance
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield
- United Healthcare
- Call for other insurances
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Aaron Hailey
Community Liaison
Call: (469) 781-6774
Email: aaron.hailey@vnatexas.org
To make a referral:
Call: (214) 689-2355
Fax: (877) 992-4062
Delivering Hope to Children’s Haven Patients – Meet Mitchell
Frequently Asked Questions
Hospice is provided anywhere your child calls home. Often, this is in the family home, where children can be surrounded by their loved ones and community. Hospice can also be provided in the hospital if a patient is too sick to go home.
Each VNA Children’s Haven patient has a team of experts ensuring all your child’s and family’s needs are met. The team includes the hospice physician, the RN case manager, 24/7 nursing support, a social worker for counseling and additional resources, spiritual support, and child life specialists, among others. Each member of your family is an important part of the care plan, and we strive to meet your individual needs.
VNA’s Certified Child Life Specialists (CCLS) will help both your child and their siblings develop age-appropriate coping skills during this complex time. Utilizing play as a therapeutic tool, the CCLS will answer questions, help provide a sense of normalcy, a safe space to ask questions and express emotions related to your child’s illness. The CCLS will also facilitate memory-making activities for families to treasure.
Our physician works with your child’s current physician team to determine eligibility based on prognosis. A person is appropriate for hospice care when they have a life prognosis of six months or fewer if the disease follows its normal course. Many children live much longer than this due to the excellent care they receive. As long as the physician continues to certify the patient as appropriate for hospice, he or she can remain on hospice services.
While your family continues to serve as the primary caregiver, the hospice team makes intermittent visits to ensure your child’s needs are met, including symptom management, and emotional and spiritual support. Should your child need additional in-home care, our team can help with these resources.
The Affordable Care Act mandated concurrent care availability for children receiving pediatric hospice services. This means that children on pediatric hospice no longer must choose between curative treatment and hospice care because they can have both at the same time.
Most insurance plans have a hospice benefit which covers much of the cost of hospice care. Patients with Medicaid benefits have their hospice care covered at 100%. VNA also provides charitable care for those with no means to pay for hospice care.