(Madera, Calif.) – Dr. David Sine, medical director of Valley Children’s palliative care program, recently accepted the 2022 Courageous Provider Award from the Courageous Parents Network, a non-profit organization that educates and empowers families and providers caring for children with serious illness.
The annual award recognizes clinicians’ commitment to family-centered pediatric patient care, honoring providers who model both tenacity and empathy in journeying with children and their families – while displaying the essential values of palliative care. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, palliative care includes services and medical care intended to improve the quality of life and reduce symptoms, such as pain, in patients who have a life-threatening or terminal condition.
“This is about the team and the work we do with medically fragile kids,” Dr. Sine said. “The parents we work with feel the work we do. With this award, we continue to provide palliative services to the children we serve in Central California.”
Caring for a seriously ill child can have a devastating impact on the entire family. Valley Children’s Susan Willoughby Palliative Care Team – led by Dr. Sine – is comprised of specially trained physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, child life specialists and therapists. The goal of the team is to add life to the child’s years…not simply years to the child’s life.
You can learn more about the Susan Willoughby Palliative Care Program at Valley Children’s Hospital by visiting www.valleychildrens.org/palliativecare.