From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A children's hospice is a hospice
specifically designed to help children who will not live to reach
adulthood with the emotional and physical
challenges they face, and also to provide respite care for their
families.
A typical children's hospice service offers:
- Specialist children's palliative care, respite care, emergency,
and terminal care (this may be at the hospice or within the child's
home)
- Bereavement counselling and support,
typically offered as individual home support, as well as groups and
work with brothers or sisters
- Information, advice and practical assistance
- 24 hour telephone support
- A system of contact or key workers who work with named children
and families to ensure support is consistent and continued between
visits
- Physiotherapy and many complementary
therapies
- Music and
play therapy
- Activities for siblings.
Children’s hospice services work with families from all faiths,
cultures and ethnic backgrounds and respect the importance of
religious customs and cultural needs that are essential to the
daily lives of each family. Many have a chaplain who is familiar
with a variety of faiths and customs. Each service is typically an
independent charity which relies on public support to continue
their work.
United Kingdom children's
hospices
Helen House in Oxfordshire was the world's first
children's hospice. It opened in November 1982. Helen House sprang
from a friendship between Sister Frances Dominica and the parents
of a seriously ill little girl called Helen, who lived at home with
her family but required 24-hour care.[1]
There are now over 40 operational children's hospices open
across the UK.[1]
Children's hospice services in England receive an average of 5%
government funding and rely heavily on public donations.
United States children's
hospices
The children's hospice movement is still in a relatively early
stage in the United
States, where many of the functions of a children's hospice are
provided by children's hospitals. In 1983, of the 1,400 hospices in
the United States, only four were able to accept children. Key
developments since then include:
- 1996: the Children's Hospice International's (CHI) Founding
Director, Ann Armstrong-Dailey began collaboration with the United
States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to produce
a better solution for families and the Medicaid program at large.
- 1999: Congress approves first year CHI PACC appropriation.
- June 2005: HHS approves CHI's Program for All-Inclusive Care
(CHI PACC ) waiver for the state of Florida.
- September 2005: Former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson receives CHI's "Mattie
Stepanek" Award for his distinguished service on behalf of
children's health care.[2]
Through the efforts of CHI, most of the over 3,000 hospices in
the U.S. will now consider accepting children. Also, approximately
450 programs have children-specific hospice, palliative, or home
care services.[3]
Canadian children's
hospices
- Canuck Place Children's Hospice - opened 1995 in Vancouver, BC
- Rotary/Flames House - opened 2009 in Calgary, AB
- Philip Aziz Centre (The Children’s Hospice) - planned centre in
Toronto, ON
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