Welcome Pediatric Advanced Care Team (PACT) at Boston Children’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute as an Honoring Choices Partner.

January 30, 2023

We welcome the  Pediatric Advanced Care Team (PACT) at Boston Children’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a team of interdisciplinary clinicians with expertise in pediatric palliative care who add an extra layer of support to the care of children with serious illness and their families.  Established in 1997, PACT is the oldest continuously running pediatric palliative care program in the country.

Their team, including physicians, pediatric nurse practitioners, program nurses and social workers, works closely with families to develop comprehensive care plans based on their wishes and priorities. In most cases, these include managing pain and symptoms; facilitating communication with the child’s care team; enhancing quality of life with emphasis on meaningfulness and improving coordination of care across settings.  PACT opens channels of communication within the family, provides comfort and support, and helps guide decision making and advance care planning that honor a family’s values. PACT also assists with guardianship needs when our pediatric patients with significant medical complexity and neurological impairment age into adulthood. Clinicians are available 24 hours a day to consult in any setting, from hospital to clinic to home.

We are delighted to work with Lauren Cramer, MSW, LICSW, Pediatric Advanced Care Team (PACT), who will jointly develop informational fact sheets on Pediatric Palliatives Care, and Guardianship and Seriously Ill Patients.  We will collaborate with the Honoring Choices Partner Network to ensure better care coordination and smoother transitions for seriously ill patients and their families.

Contacting PACT