Pediatric Complex Care in Orlando

When your child needs comprehensive, personalized care for a brain or spinal cord injury, heart defect or complex wounds, we're here to help with a treatment plan that's tailored to your child's needs. From developmental and pulmonary assessments to treatment for respiratory needs and IV medication, we're ready with a wide range of services to support every step of your child's journey.

Our Cleft and Craniofacial Center is the only location in Central Florida to offer endoscopic surgery for cleft and craniofacial conditions. Our center is staffed by experienced pediatric neurosurgical and plastic surgical doctors who are dedicated to your child's care.

For more information about our services or to schedule an appointment, please call our nurse care coordinator at Call407-609-0365. Our free, confidential care coordinator services do not require a referral. Your nurse care coordinator will talk through and assist you with:

• Appointments
• Clinical trial availability
• Consultations
• Disease information
• Insurance questions
• Medical history
• Procedure information
• Specialist referrals
• Working through your specific needs and questions

Our pediatric palliative care specialists include doctors, nurses and social workers who will help your child feel as comfortable as possible. We focus on maximizing their quality of life by relieving pain and stress in a compassionate, comprehensive and family-centered way.

When an accident, illness or birth defect causes a serious wound, scar or deformity, count on our pediatric plastic surgeons. Our team has the expertise to heal your child’s body, mind and spirit with state-of-the-art reconstructive and cosmetic surgery and recovery techniques.

Our Fetal Medicine Care Coordination program partners closely with Maternal-Fetal Medicine to support families during pregnancy when complex medical needs are identified.

A dedicated care coordinator works alongside the maternal care team to help families understand next steps, connect with pediatric and surgical specialists, and prepare for delivery and neonatal care.

This may include:

• Coordination with pediatric subspecialists and surgical teams
• Prenatal consultations with Neonatology
• NICU and CVICU tours to help families prepare and ask questions
• Care planning across hospital systems and services
• A smooth transition from prenatal care into postnatal and pediatric services

For some families, prenatal care coordination transitions seamlessly into ongoing support through Coordinated Care for Kids or other AdventHealth pediatric service lines, depending on the child’s needs.

While head and neck tumors are rare in children, these masses of abnormal cells can significantly impact your child’s health and quality of life. Many tumors are benign, but some can be malignant. Our highly specialized multidisciplinary team uses the most advanced diagnostic, surgical removal, reconstruction and rehabilitative techniques to achieve the best possible outcome for children with the following conditions:

• Benign craniofacial bone tumors
• Benign neurogenic tumors
• Branchial cleft and other neck anomalies
• Malignant craniofacial bone cancers
• Neurogenic cancerous tumors
• Odontogenic bone tumors
• Salivary anomalies and cancer
• Sarcoma
• Skin lesions and cancer
• Thyroid nodules and tumors
• Vascular anomalies

Pediatric palliative care is an interdisciplinary care approach for children with life-limiting or life-threatening conditions and support for their families. The care we provide focuses on comforting our young patients and improving their quality of life through our whole-person care approach — supporting their physical, emotional and spiritual needs with uncommon compassion.

• Symptom management: Our providers can help relieve pain, constipation, nausea, dyspnea, anxiety and spiritual distress while also assisting to ensure your child’s medical treatment aligns with your family’s goals of care.
• Care planning: We can help tailor your child’s medical care in complicated situations to their needs and your goals of care while helping you navigate complex decisions.
• Family support: As you process your child’s condition and treatment, we understand the uncertainty and stress you feel. We provide emotional, social and spiritual support for your whole family to comfort you along your journey.

• Holistic and child-centered
• Multidisciplinary team including physicians, nurses, social workers and more
• Focus on communication, compassion and continuity of care

• Children with serious illnesses (not limited to life-threatening conditions)
• Families navigating uncertainty, complexity or emotional stress
• Those needing help managing pain or symptoms

• We specialize in children. Our expertise in pediatric medical complexity positions us to provide care tailored to your child’s unique needs.
• Whole-person care: We attend to your child in body, mind in spirit — understanding that illness affects the patient’s whole being and their family. We treat physical symptoms while also caring for their emotional and spiritual needs — and your family’s — with uncommon compassion.
• We have an onsite social worker for family support when you need it most.
• We collaborate with your child’s existing providers so that there is continuity in your child’s care.

Question: Is palliative care the same as hospice care?

Answer: No, palliative care and hospice care are not the same. Palliative care is specialized medical care focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness, improving quality of life for the patient and their family. Palliative care can be provided at any stage of an illness alongside curative or life-prolonging treatments.

Hospice care is a specific type of palliative care for individuals with a life-limiting illness, typically with a prognosis of six months or less to live. Hospice focuses on comfort and quality of life when curative treatments are no longer being pursued. In pediatrics, through a program called concurrent care, patients can have both hospice care and life-prolonging treatments, even when they cannot be cured.

Question: When should we consider palliative care?

Answer: Palliative care is appropriate when a person is living with a serious, life-limiting illness. It can be helpful at any stage of the illness, from diagnosis to the end of life. Palliative care can help patients of any age. Here we help children with serious illnesses to be as comfortable as possible.

Palliative care is not limited to patients nearing the end of their life. It can also be helpful for those who are living with a serious illness and have a longer life expectancy.

If your child may be eligible for palliative care, talk to your health care provider to help you determine if it's right for your family and guide you through the process.

Question: Will this service replace our current doctors?

Answer: Your current providers will not be replaced. Rather, your child’s palliative care team will add to their already world-class care team by providing more support, comfort and expert care for your child and extending to your family.

We offer complete clinical care, including:

• Whole-child medical care focused on the body, mind and spirit
• Primary care for children and adolescents that supports them as they grow
• Ongoing care for adults with complex, chronic conditions

We're proactive in care coordination and take a multidisciplinary approach to care. This means you'll be cared for by providers, registered nurses, social workers, registered dietitians and case management assistants working together as one team.

We ensure your care is coordinated and seamless at every step. We support care across hospitals, offer assistance with scheduling and referrals, can coordinate follow-up care with multiple specialists and will coordinate with schools, home health and community agencies.

We offer family-focused care that's centered on:

• Shared decision-making with families
• Care planning that respects family values, culture and goals
• Helping families build skills to advocate for their child
• Emotional and educational support to reduce caregiver stress

It's our goal to help you not only get the right care but also understand it clearly. That's why our team will help with:

• Translating medical information into caregiver-friendly terms
• Preparing families for procedures, visits and transitions
• Completing forms, authorizations and processes
• Supporting children with limited English proficiency or health literacy challenges