Truman Heartland Community Foundation Awards Funding to Kansas City Hospice

Truman Heartland Community Foundation Awards Funding to Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care

Eastern Jackson County, Mo., August 30, 2020 – Truman Heartland Community Foundation has awarded Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care a $4,800 grant in support of the Carousel program.

Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care’s Carousel program provides pediatric hospice and palliative care to newborns and children through age 18. Carousel is designed to address the unique physical, emotional and spiritual needs of children and their family members. Grant support will be used for equipment and programming supplies to meet the needs of pediatric patients who live in Eastern Jackson County. Support from Truman Heartland and additional funders ensures all families have access to compassionate care to support them through a critical time in their lives.

While we all wish every child will have the opportunity to grow up healthy and strong, there are still many childhood diseases for which treatment will not end in a cure. Each and every day (and night), dedicated members of the Kansas City Hospice Carousel Pediatric Care team are attending to the unique needs of children and their families – offering professional healthcare including symptom management as well as spiritual, emotional, and psychological support. Kansas City Hospice is proud to be recognized by area healthcare providers as the leading pediatric hospice care provider in our community, fully dedicated to the unique needs of children and their families. 

Families who are affected by the serious illness of a child find ways to savor the moments of childhood — those moments of love, togetherness and laughter. In addition to medical care, Carousel provides families with emotional and spiritual support, art and music therapy to help both patients and siblings cope. Carousel gives families the comfort and peace of mind to enjoy their remaining days with their child and make lasting memories together. 

One mother of a carousel patient shares, “I wish there wasn’t the stigma around choosing hospice care. Hospice care isn’t giving up. Hospice care is the continuing of medical treatment in the comfort of your own home. I fully believe that without hospice [our daughter] wouldn’t have been able to attend her preschool graduation. Hospice made her last two months more comfortable. I am thankful for our hospice team in all they did. They held our hands through the darkest time of our life. They advocated for our entire family in a time we could hardly think straight.”

Kansas City Hospice also provides grief support programming to walk with families through the grief and healing process. This includes hospice bereavement support; Passages mental health counseling for complicated grief, difficult life transitions and those experiencing the combination of trauma and loss; and, Solace House grief peer support groups and  summer camps.

For more information visit www.KCHospice.org/Carousel or www.thcf.org  

About Kansas City Hospice

As Kansas City’s original hospice, celebrating 40 years of service this year, Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care is at the forefront of how individuals should be cared for at the end of life, and how grieving families should be supported. Every dollar donated stays right here in Kansas City to help local families. Its mission is to bring expert care, peace of mind, comfort, guidance, and hope to people who are affected by life-limiting illness or by grief.

About Truman Heartland Community Foundation

Truman Heartland Community Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity committed to improving the communities in and around Eastern Jackson County through partnerships with community members and donors. Truman Heartland serves the region with assets of more than $50 million and annual grants surpassing $4.8 million. For more information, visit www.thcf.org or call Truman Heartland at 816.836.8189.

Media Contact:

Caryn Hohnholt, Vice President of Development

chohnholt@KCHospice.org

816.276.2615

www.KCHospice.org