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Children’s hospice ZonnaCare offers pleasant and comfortable overnight stays to care-intensive children, at the same enabling parents to take a ‘time out’ from caring and recharge their batteries. The hospice has been founded by specialized children’s nurse Annemieke Bernard and her partner, music therapist Matthijs van der Beek. Together they have run the hospice for many years.
On September 14th 2021 Matthijs passed away, an indescribable loss.
Annemieke is strongly motivated to continue the care for ‘their’ children, in the spirit of Matthijs. Her knowledge and experience in the fields of haematology, oncology, palliative and terminal care as well as the support of a highly committed and skilled team around her enable this continuation. A newly formed group of musicians offers the children the joy and relaxation that derives from wandering sounds, thus continuing part of Matthijs’ work.
Objectives
- To provide care-intensive children with a pleasant and comfortable stay.
- To create some breathing room for parents/carers.
Target group
Care-intensive children
The hospice aims to provide care for young children with reduced mobility who receive ambulatory home care and require permanent supervision. Examples include (a combination of):
- Children with serious multiple impairments
- Children with a metabolic illness
- Children in the palliative/terminal stages
- Children on extramural artificial respiration
Parents/carers
Parents/carers often have no other option than to end up in a complex home care situation. They become isolated from the outside world and tend to feel guilty about their lack of sufficient attention to other family members, friends and acquaintances. In short, their social network has shrunk and participation in the wider society is rather limited.
