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Retreat Focuses on Improving Care for Gravely Ill Children

More than 120 health care professionals, chaplains, social workers and others will gather at Duke Divinity School Oct. 11-13 to discuss how to better care for dying children and their families.

The curriculum at the core of this educational retreat was partially developed by those it is designed to impact - parents who have lost children or whose children are gravely ill. Training at the retreat will go beyond clinical issues and address delivery of care based on the needs, preferences and culture of children and their families.

“Caring for children with life-threatening illness takes teamwork,” said Richard Payne, director of the Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life, the primary sponsor of the event. “This training teaches clinicians how to put the child and the family at the center of that team. Everyone providing care to dying children should have this training.”

On returning to their home institutions, attendees are expected to put what they learn into practice by training others and actively improving the way care is provided. The training, developed by the Initiative for Pediatric Palliative Care of the Educational Development Center in Massachusetts , is organized around six topics:

• Engaging with children and families
• Relieving pain and other symptoms
• Analyzing ethical challenges in pediatric end-of-life decision making
• Responding to suffering and bereavement
• Improving communication and strengthening relationships
• Establishing continuity of care

“As a parent who lost a child, it’s very exciting for me to see all the people who have a part in caring for sick children come together to talk about how to do it better,” said Beth Page, a participant from Sampson County. “When Dakota died 10 years ago, he died at home, and I can't imagine it any other way. My husband and I put together a team from Sampson County to figure out how to improve services where we live to help other families.”

The Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life, based at Duke Divinity School , works to improve care for suffering and dying patients, and their families, through interdisciplinary scholarship, education and public outreach.

For details, contact Merry Davis, associate director of programs and communications, Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life at 919-660-3470.