Fletcher Allen, a Vermont university hospital and medical center, serves all of
Vermont and the northern New York region. Located in Burlington, Fletcher Allen is a regional, academic healthcare center and teaching hospital in alliance with the University of Vermont.
End of Life & Palliative Care Services
The Vermont Children’s Hospital provides caring and compassionate services for children with life-threatening illnesses. Our goal is to provide the best possible care for children and families including the latest treatments and therapies for pain and symptom management, advanced care planning and specialized end-of-life care.
End-of-life care is complementary to other hospital treatment plans and is compatible with therapy designed to prolong life. The difference is that end-of-life care service focuses on comfort, dignity, hope, and improving quality of life. This service includes specially trained and board-certified nurses working with a physician medical director, as well as the support of the Fletcher Allen social work, nursing, case management, and pastoral care services. Some of the areas we focus on include:
Acute Pain
Acute pain is a type of pain that begins suddenly, usually with a feeling of sharp pain. It may be a warning of a more serious health problem or disease. It can be caused by a number of factors including an injury, surgery, labor or childbirth or other events. Acute pain can be short-lived or last several weeks or months.
Chronic Pain
Chronic pain is a long-lasting pain that persists even after an injury has healed. The pain may be present for weeks, months or years. It may lead to limited mobility, lack of energy and other chronic pain symptoms and can affect a person’s ability to work and perform normal activities. Types of chronic pain include headache, low-back pain, arthritis pain, cancer pain and pain related to the nerves.
Advanced Care Planning
Advanced care planning involves making decisions about the care you or a loved one will receive at the end of life – as well as decisions that affect your loved ones after you are gone.
This can include issues such as how to talk to loved ones and family members about end-of-life care, what to do if family members disagree, how to talk to your child’s health care providers, advanced care directives and advanced planning services.
For children with life-threatening illnesses, our end-of-life-care specialists at Vermont Children’s Hospital help assist families with decisions that best reflect the values and preferences of their child and family.
Other conditions we provide care for include:
- Cancer
- Leukemia
- Neuroblastoma
- Glycogen Storage Disease
- Extreme prematurity
- Leigh's disease
- Muscular dystrophy
- Cystic fibrosis
- Liver failure
- Kidney failure
- Trisomy 13
- Anencephaly
- Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
- Inborn errors of metabolism