Pediatric Palliative Care
Our palliative care team focuses on improving quality of life for pediatric patients with serious illnesses. We use a holistic, interdisciplinary, and family-centered approach to support your family’s physical, emotional and spiritual well-being.
What is Palliative Care?
Palliative care is an interdisciplinary specialty focused on maximizing quality of life, relieving symptoms, and aligning treatment plans with patient and family goals and values in the face of serious illness.
Palliative care is beneficial in all stages of serious illness, starting from time of diagnosis. Our team comprises specially trained physicians, nurse practitioners, social workers and chaplains to partner with you and to provide additional support for your family as you navigate complex care decisions and stressors.
Our Areas of Care
We provide the following services:
Inpatient or Hospital Based Services: Our interdisciplinary team supports hospitalized patients with serious illnesses and their families. We work alongside the primary team and other consulting specialists to help manage symptoms associated with serious illnesses, provide an additional layer of support to patients and their families undergoing physical, emotional and spiritual distress, and ensure good communication and well-informed decision making.
Outpatient follow-up: We are currently not accepting new referrals. Stay tuned for outpatient expansion of our program.
Bereavement Support
Our care for children and their families does not end if their child passes away. Parents are welcome to join our Comforting Hearts Parent Bereavement Support Group that meets monthly. Please contact our team at [email protected].
Our physician
Clinical team
Heather VanDongen-Trimmer, DNP
Blair Butler, MSW
Administrative support team
Ingrid Ling
Administrative Assistant
Interdisciplinary services
Rev. Karl Baker (Pediatric Chaplain)
Kellye Carroll, MS, CCLS (Director, Child Life/Child Development Program)
Jenna Marcovitz, MA, MT-BC, CCLS, RMT (Director, Music Therapy, Integrative Medicine), The UCLA Health Heart Touch Project, Pediatric Psychology
Contact Us
Our compassionate Palliative Care team is by your side every step of the way. Call 310-825-0867 to connect with us.