While the calendar might have read Feb. 15, that didn’t stop Dr. Linda Del Vecchio-Gilbert and her crew of volunteers from helping to make Valentine’s Day just a little more better for her patients and their families.

Magnolia Pediatrics is focused on providing palliative care to children and their families.

Del Vecchio-Gilbert always knew she wanted to care for children, and attended the University of Rhode Island for her undergraduate degree before going to work for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

She then received her master’s in nursing at Emory University, specializing in pediatric care, and went on to work at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. She moved to Boston Children’s Hospital for a while before returning to Rhode Island and working at Hasbro’s Children’s Hospital, where she helped develop the palliative care program.

The party was attended by 98 people. It featured face painting, a candy bar, balloon twisting, several arts and crafts stations, giant checkers, a kissing booth for photographs and a pizza and Allie’s donuts buffet.

While her office is in Cranston, Del Vecchio-Gilbert’s patients come from all over. One family, particularly, cannot speak highly enough of the doctor and her practice.

“My children, 10-year-old Isabella and 4-year-old Alyssa, both are patients. She’s our angel. We love her, her spirit, her energy. She came highly recommended by our OT,” said Kelly Flaherty of Warren.

Adding to the praise was Grandma “Benny” Flaherty.

“We would follow her anywhere,” she said. “Our family is blessed to have found her. She is amazing. We trust her completely.”

Palliative care is a subspecialty of medicine focusing on those patients with serious and complicated conditions in an effort to relieve symptoms due to their illness.

To learn more about Magnolia Pediatrics and the services Del Vecchio-Gilbert provides, visit magnoliapediatricsri.com.