Helping Our Precious Pediatrics
Facts

What: Compassion and care to encourage a family to be a family while paying attention to the unique needs of an ill child.
Who: More than 3000 families per year
Why: When an adult is diagnosed with a life-limiting illness, one person struggles not to be defined by their illness. When a child is diagnosed, their entire family struggles to not have the illness define them.
The HHA Way
There are only 60 palliative care beds in all of Canada dedicated to a dying child. Encouraging parents to give themselves much needed respite is next to impossible. The fear and guilt associated with leaving their child in the care another can often paralyze. The goal of the HOPP is to maintain as much normalcy for the entire family as possible. Establishing a school like environment to help address boredom utilizing, concepts established in Experiential Day Hospice and supporting home schooling plans delivered by parents. Creating family experiences and coordinating family events that may not be feasible due to the financial challenges many families face when dealing with a seriously ill child. Offer a “day at a time” Home Hospice Program so that as trust builds between parents and the local hospice, for one hour or one day, the family can take a much needed rest.
Details of Service
Encouraging parents to give themselves much needed respite is next to impossible. The fear and guilt associated with leaving their child in the care of another can often paralyze. The goal of the Paediatric Advancing Care Respite Program is to maintain as much normalcy for the entire family as possible.
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Fashioned after the old-fashioned school house philosophy, a place for parents and children to come together for both learning and social interaction
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Creating family experiences and coordinating family events that may not be feasible due to the financial challenges many families face when dealing with a seriously ill child
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Offer a “day at a time” In-Home Hospice Care / Respite so that, as trust builds between parents and their local Home Hospice Association ultimately allowing the family to take a much-needed rest
HOPP Family Day
HOPP Family day is the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down. Parents deserve a break and siblings deserve some fun. By creating family experiences and coordinating family events, we help you relax and be the family you wanted to be, before this new journey began.
HOPP Academy
Children learn and grow in a myriad of ways, that doesn’t have to stop just because they get sick. At HOPP Day, children can experience the structured learning environment they would have had in school, and parents can rest-easy knowing their child is safe and having fun in an environment that they can trust.
While a child is on their treatment journey it is likely that they are not able to regularly attend school. Home Hospice Academy is a day for interaction and education in a fun and supportive way. Fashioned after the old fashioned school house philosophy we are able to create a place for a parent and child can come together to get some learning done and some social interaction.
HOPP At Home
Your child is ill and requires round the clock care…but how can you care for your child at the level they need if you yourself aren’t cared for?! HOPP-At Home allows you to take a break however brief that may be, knowing that your child is safe and in good hands with HHA.
Implementation
HOPP Volunteers are trained and support in their work to support
The concept of a Death Doula, while new to Canada, is not new to HHA. We designed HOPP to be able to fully utilize this model of care. Learn more about the training Death Doulas receive
Palliative Personal Support Workers (PPSW’s) are so important to HHA that we, along with Social Service Worker Students and Humber College, have created the first targeted ~ focused training is this area Learn more about the Palliative Personal Support Worker Training
Progress
April 2017: HHA is invited to the OPSWA Conference to talk about the PPSW Training Program