Quality of life for children with life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses: description and evaluation of a regional, collaborative model for pediatric palliative care.

The care of children in the U.S. with life-limiting illnesses is inadequate. Misallocated resources, flawed assumptions and models of care, and a lack of appropriate professional education foster a costly, inefficient system that falls short of its true potential. This article details the evolution of a regional, shared approach to address these issues, the District of Columbia Pediatric Palliative Care Collaboration (DCPPCC), and includes its evolution, preliminary clinical results, and assessment of barriers encountered.