We Built It…They All Came…Now How to Keep from Drowning? Pediatric Palliative Care Program Development 202: Skills in Your Toolbox for Growth and Sustainability (P20)

Abstract

•List the components of both a hospital operating budget and a pediatric palliative care (PPC) program operating budget.•Identify strategies for maximizing clinical revenue.•Describe key factors important for pediatric palliative care program sustainability and growth. In a 2012 survey, 69% of children's hospitals reported having a pediatric palliative care (PPC) program. Most of these programs offered inpatient consultation during the work week only, with a variable number of consults annually depending on hospital bed size and number of funded PPC staff. Most of these programs reported being highly dependent on hospital funding. In addition, there was wide variability in program staffing resources with the mean FTE of physicians at 0.45, social workers at 0.29 and chaplains at 0.16. More notably, 41% of programs reported having no physician support, 36.6% were without support from advance practice nurses, and 66% had no social work support. The rate of new PPC programs being developed peaked in 2008. While the significant increase in the total number of PPC programs is worth celebrating, in reality many programs are under resourced thereby threatening the longevity of the program or its functionality. The next decade of PPC growth and development will require a focus not just on new program development, but on expanding and sustaining existing programs. This session will focus on the second phase of palliative care program development: Now that your program has been formed, how do you sustain your program and grow to meet expanding clinical needs and academic demands? In this workshop, specific issues related to PPC program sustainability and growth will be addressed including: 1) Finances: understanding hospital and program operating budgets; 2) Clinical revenue: identifying common billing and coding issues; 3) Leadership skills: building negotiation skills and managing conflict; 4) Program development strategies: maintaining relevance, and finding creative ways to use existing resources and philanthropy.