ABOUT CHI PACC®

Children's Hospice International, building upon its more than 20 years experience and with technical assistance from experts in pediatrics, hospice, and palliative care, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), developed its CHI Program for All-Inclusive Care for Children and their Families® (CHI PACC®).

Unlike traditional hospice/palliative care models, a CHI PACC® program provides a continuum of care for children and their families from the time that a child is diagnosed with a life-threatening condition, with hope for a cure, through the bereavement process, if cure is not attained. The core of success for a CHI PACC® program is that it:

• Incorporates families as participants and stakeholders in the child's care
• Integrates traditional home care and hospice/palliative services
• Integrates pediatric heightened care with community-based care
• Provides access to hospice/palliative care that addresses symptoms from the beginning of care and integrates palliative care with disease management
• Fills the current gaps in care for the child and family to enable children and their families/caregivers to remain in the community
• Provides a longitudinal view of the child and family/caregivers across the disease trajectory and bereavement follow-up

The U.S. Congress appropriated funds for FY 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 to enable CHI, through the Department of Health and Human Services, to conduct state demonstration model programs of the CHI PACC® model. The experiences gleaned from this demonstration have aided identification of a variety of means to assess the need for, and to implement, a feasible CHI PACC® program. The CHI demonstration programs will be expanded to additional states.

CHI PACC® Model Innovations:

Services are available to any child of any age with a life-threatening condition:

• The child and the family are the focus for care and decision making
• Community-based palliative (comfort-based) care is available concurrent with disease treatments aimed at cure
• The program consists of a continuum of medical, psychological, social, and spiritual support services, respite care, education and advocacy, and bereavement support for families if cure is not attained

CHI PACC® Funding:

Funding for a CHI PACC® program may be pursued through:

• Medicaid waivers or research and demonstration projects approved by CMS
• Outreach to private insurance companies and HMOs
• Application to foundations for grants and other support