Essential Care is a special way of caring for a child with a life-threatening illness. Our program, the first of its kind in the United States, is a pediatric program of Home Care Buffalo, an affiliate of The Center for Hospice & Palliative Care. Our program works closely with The Children's Hospital of Buffalo and Roswell Park Cancer Institute. We give a child and family complete and consistent care - physical, spiritual and emotional - at home or in the hospital.

Essential Care is available to children, from infancy through adolescence, who have been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. We care for children who live in Erie, Niagara, and parts of Genesee and Cattaraugus counties. Our referrals come from physicians, but often it's a family member or friend who refers people to Essential Care.