Caring for seriously ill children and their families is difficult work — something many people hope they never have to face. But for Oregon Health & Science University Doernbecher Children’s Hospital’s Kathy Perko, RN, MS, PNP, CPON, CPPHN, it’s a calling.

Perko, director of the Bridges Palliative Care Program at OHSU Doernbecher in Portland, Ore., was selected to receive a Sojourns Award from the Cambia Health Foundation. The organization is the corporate foundation of Cambia Health Solutions, a total health solutions company dedicated to transforming the way people experience the healthcare system. The award recognizes leadership and innovation in the field of palliative and end-of-life care. It also includes a $50,000 grant, which Perko said she plans to donate to the Bridges Program at OHSU Doernbecher.

"Pediatric palliative care is a very specialized field, and there are few people who do it as well as Kathy does," Peggy Maguire, Cambia Health Foundation board chairwoman, said in a news release. "What the Sojourns Award really recognizes, however, is Kathy’s commitment to sharing her expertise with others so that more children have access to the care they need at the end of life."

In 2001, Perko and her team at OHSU Doernbecher started the first organized palliative care program in Oregon for children with cancer. As time passed, she worked to expand the program to support all children with life-limiting illnesses, and in 2005 the Bridges Palliative Care Program was created.

Perko has been partnering with hospices throughout Oregon to help them better care for seriously ill children in their communities. She’s also in the process of starting a pediatric palliative care telehealth program to continue caring for children after they leave the hospital.

For information, visit www.CambiaHealthFoundation.org.