Pediatrics & Therapeutics
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-0665
ISSN: 2161-0665
Natasha Piracha, James Oleske and Onajovwe Fofah
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, USA
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Pediatr Ther
Circle of Life Children��?s Center, Inc., (COLCC) is a non-profit 501c foundation founded in 2004, providing comprehensive pediatric palliative and end of life care for families at University Hospital, Newark and throughout NJ. Pediatric age patients frequently do not receive adequate pain and/or symptom management nor do their families receive supportive services, both of which compromise quality of life. Current models of care for seriously ill children are neither sufficiently funded nor physically available to adequately address the needs of the many infants, children and adolescents with life-threatening conditions and their families. At University Hospital, COLCC has been actively involved in the care of more than 200 families and fifty infants annually, who experience premature death or are born with life-threatening and life-limiting conditions, many of whom have limited resources. By partnering with New Community Corporation, one of the largest community developments not-for-profit corporations in the US, we are able to continue with our mission: providing integrative services and programs to the underserved community of Newark. This includes inpatient and home-based pediatric palliative and end of life care, professional consultation and education services, family support services, bereavement counseling, community and family education, and volunteer programs. The unique advantage of this partnership allows a full-bodied approach to pain and palliative care, where physicians are able to provide the medical care needed, while community organizations can provide the emotional and social support lacking in physician focused models of palliative care.
Natasha Piracha has graduated with her Bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ and then subsequently with her MD from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS). She is currently the Chief Resident for the combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency Program at Rutgers NJMS. She has focused her recent efforts on furthering the efforts of pediatric palliative and end of life care with Dr James Oleske, Professor of Pediatrics and Founder of Circle of Life Children’s Center, Inc and with Dr Onajovwe Fofah, Assistant Professor and the Director of Neonatology at Rutgers NJMS.
Email:pirachnz@njms.rutgers.edu