THE GIFT OF TIME
George Mark Children’s House is a nonprofit organization that provides the gift of time to children with life-limiting illnesses and their families – time for kids to be just kids and parents to be “mom” and “dad”, instead of round-the-clock caregivers. As the first— and, currently, only—freestanding residential pediatric palliative care facility in the United States, we offer a unique alternative to hospice, hospital, or home care. Our House is setting a new standard for pediatric palliative care, providing high-quality medical care to children with life-limiting illnesses and much-needed support services to their parents and siblings in a home-like setting.
COMPREHENSIVE CARE
We serve as a medical model for interdisciplinary palliative care for children and their families. We have doctors and nurses who provide 24/7 medical care for our children, and our Interdisciplinary Team also includes a licensed social worker, psychologist, child life specialist, and chaplain who address the emotional, social, psychological, and spiritual needs of the entire family. We support families from the time of receiving the prognosis that their child is unlikely to live into adulthood, through their journey of life, the child’s death, and beyond, with bereavement support that is not time-limited.
COMPASSIONATE CARE
We measure ourselves by lives affected rather than by beds occupied. We offer our services in a licensed, warm, home-like environment, providing a comforting space for children and their families, including two family apartments. We help them with respite care, transitional post-hospital care, pain and symptom management, and at the end of life. Our care is provided regardless of a family’s ability to pay, thanks to the generosity of our donors.
The Grand Re-Opening Celebration Gala
Click HERE for online registration. Need more information? Click HERE. Still have questions? Email: events@georgemark.org
Use Special Offer Code "GMCH"
July Update
Dear Family and Friends,
Together we are making progress on several fronts! As you know, George Mark relied heavily on philanthropic support, and we were forced to suspend inpatient services this March. In subsequent months, we’ve been working hard to enact a new financial model. While there is more work to do, I am delighted to announce that plans are underway for an October 4th re-opening!
more »We tend to think of death as something that happens to older people: those who have at least had a chance to live, to forge relationships, families, careers... But how do you come to terms with the approaching death of someone who hasn't had those chances? Providing care at the end of a child's life is very different from caring for a dying adult. It requires a different medical approach, a different philosophy and even a different way of dealing with health care costs. Click here to read the entire article and hear the interview.
"A New Way Home" follows three families who have lost a child at George Mark Children's House, the first freestanding pediatric hospice in the United States. When George Mark Children's House announced it would close in March 2010 due to lack of funding, filmmaker Ben Tuller documented the families and staff during the house's last days in this poignant film about loss, hope, and life's greatest lesson. See the trailer at: www.anewwayhomethemovie.com/.