Byline: Jenny Deam News Staff Writer
While there is probably nothing to lift a family's burden when a child is dying, a new hospice program may help to ease the load.
Children's Hospital Home Care, in connection with Centura Porter Hospice, has launched a new program designed for terminally ill children and their families.
It is called The Butterfly Program, borrowing from the symbolism of transition. In this case it is the transition into the final stages of life.
When a child is gravely ill, experts say, the family most often simply wants him or her to be comfortable and in familiar surroundings. That means home. But because of the child's condition as well as the emotional stress on all involved, families need help.
That's where The Butterfly Program comes in, said Dee Mueller, a spokeswoman for Centura Home Care and Hospice. Included in the hospice program are pediatric nursing services, therapy - both physical and emotional - and respite care for parents and siblings of the ill child. That can include anything from sitting at the child's bedside so parents can get some sleep to running errands and playing with other children in the family, who often feel neglected.
The program also provides bereavement counseling for the family after the child dies.
Mueller said most insurance companies cover part of the cost, and other expenses often can be defrayed by hospice or hospital foundation funds. Four families currently are involved in the program. For more information, call (303) 573-1234.
