From Service to Center: Leading Palliative Innovations for Complex Populations

After establishing a palliative care service in pediatrics, the team at the University of Mississippi Medical Center realized the majority of patients needing compassionate goals of care and symptom management were children with medical complexity. The team discovered that, in order to support patients’ and families’ quality of life, they had to re-imagine the scope of a palliative care team. Additionally, they began leading care for vent-dependent children who live at home or in the hospital without the means to get home. They evolved their service into an inpatient and outpatient medical “center” for these children, and grew from a service of 70 to 1,200 over five years. Now, the team is partnering with the Mississippi State Legislature, Medicaid, and institutional leaders to build a home for medically complex children. They are also launching an accountable care coordination pilot project with Medicaid to serve this population with an initial budget of $160,000.