Community Hospice & Palliative Care has opened the Dorion Family Pediatric Center, the first pediatric hospice and palliative care center of its kind in Florida and one of only a few in the United States. The Jacksonville-based nonprofit established the center to give children living with serious and complex illnesses, along with the families who care for them, a dedicated space built around their comfort, dignity, and connection.
Located at the Earl B. Hadlow Campus in Jacksonville, the center serves as the home of Community PēdsCare®, the organization’s pediatric palliative and hospice program. Its opening drew more than 300 community leaders, donors, and families, and it marks a major step forward for specialized pediatric care across Northeast Florida.
The center was made possible through The Foundation of Community Hospice & Palliative Care and the generosity of donors and community supporters. It is named in honor of Dottie Dorion and the Dorion family, whose longstanding commitment to compassionate care has helped shape the organization’s history and its future.
“The Dorion Family Pediatric Center reflects the heart of this community and a deep commitment to ensuring children and families feel supported, connected, and cared for,” said Annie Tuttle, Vice President of Philanthropy and Community Impact. “This space will make a lasting difference by bringing resources, support, and a sense of community together in one place.”
The center brings the many parts of a child’s care together under one roof. Families have a single location for therapeutic services, caregiver support, and psychosocial and spiritual care, along with opportunities for children and parents to connect with others who understand what they are facing. By reducing travel time for care teams, the center also frees clinicians to spend more of their day where it matters most, at the side of the children and families they serve.
Pediatric hospice and palliative care is not simply adult care in a smaller form. It focuses on helping children live as fully as possible, honoring each moment, and surrounding the whole family with support at every stage of a child’s illness. For many families in Northeast Florida, that kind of specialized care has meant long drives and services scattered across different places. The Dorion Family Pediatric Center is built to change that, giving families one welcoming place designed for children first.
Built with room to grow alongside Community PēdsCare®, the center is positioned to serve more children over time and to deepen the support it offers to the families who need it.
Families and supporters can learn more about the center and the campaign behind it at campaign.thefoundationcares.org.
About Community Hospice & Palliative Care
Established in 1979, Community Hospice & Palliative Care is an innovative national leader in palliative and hospice care, as well as providing programs and services to meet the diverse needs of the communities it serves. During its 47-year history, through the support of more than 1,000 employees and 1,000 volunteers, the organization helps approximately 1,500 patients per day to live better with advanced illness, at home, in long-term care and assisted living facilities, in hospitals and at its 10 inpatient care centers. No one is ever denied care due to an inability to pay. To learn more about the support and services of Community Hospice & Palliative Care, visit CommunityHospice.com.
About the Foundation
https://vimeo.com/1066928351
The Foundation of Community Hospice & Palliative Care is dedicated to advancing philanthropy to enable Community Hospice & Palliative Care to fulfill its mission of being the compassionate guide for end-of-life care in the communities we serve. Funds raised by the Foundation through memorial giving, planned and major gifts, and events support unfunded patient care services and community benefit programs for those facing advanced illness and grief.
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For more information about Community Hospice & Palliative Care, contact the company here:
Community Hospice & Palliative Care
Michelle Cardinal
(904) 477-4103
mcardinal@communityhospice.com
4266 Sunbeam Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32257
