Fondazione Casa Marta promotes the national conference
Pediatric Palliative Care: Conference in Florence
On Friday, September 25, Fondazione Casa Marta promotes the pediatric palliative care conference “Caring for Complexity. Pediatric Palliative Care: Building a National Network,” bringing together professionals from across Italy to discuss the future of pediatric palliative care. Pediatric palliative care does not intervene only in the final stage of illness: it accompanies the child and their family from the moment of diagnosis, for months or years, following every stage of the journey and caring not only for the body but also for the psychological, social and spiritual needs of those living with illness, both inside and outside the hospital. The conference, patronized by AOU Meyer IRCCS, SICP and the Federazione Cure Palliative, responds to a clear need: ensuring this kind of care is available across the entire national territory, with equal access, continuity of care and appropriate treatment.
Pediatric palliative care: why specific skills are needed
Pediatric Palliative Care (PPC) concerns children and adolescents with incurable conditions or highly complex clinical needs. Compared to adult care, PPC covers a much wider range of different, often rare, conditions, each with its own course that is difficult to predict.
This is why a personalized approach and continuous multidisciplinary work are essential. The conference puts this complexity at the center: clinical needs, but also psychological, social and spiritual ones. It also puts families at the center, as they actively take part in decisions about their children’s care.
How to take part
The conference takes place on Friday, September 25, 2026, from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm, at the Meyer Health Campus in Florence, Via Cosimo il Vecchio 26.
Participation is free. Places are limited to 99, reserved for physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, speech therapists and psychologists. Registration is mandatory through the dedicated page on Cantiere21, at least 15 days before the event. The organizing secretariat confirms registrations until places are filled.
Registration includes a certificate of attendance and ECM continuing education credits. Eight credits are awarded. To obtain them, attendees must be present for 100% of the sessions and answer at least 75% of the final assessment questions correctly.
Toward a national network for pediatric palliative care
The goal of the day is concrete: to help build an effective, sustainable national network. A network able to connect specialist centers, local health services, home care, pediatric palliative care centers and socio-educational organizations.
The day opens at 8:30 am with registration and a keynote lecture by Giovanna Scaccabarozzi on “The State of the Art of Pediatric Palliative Care in Italy.” Two working sessions follow, focused on ethics, legal aspects, home care, and the experience of pediatric hospices, including Casa Marta. In the afternoon, hands-on workshops are held across the Meyer Health Campus and Casa Marta, covering clinical case studies, recreational therapy and a dialogue with patient associations. Proceedings close at 6:00 pm.
At the end of the day, participants visit Casa Marta, the pediatric palliative care center that promoted the initiative together with Meyer, SICP and the Federazione Cure Palliative.