Hospice of Michigan Supports Families of Terminally Ill Children with Personalized Bereavement Care and Legacy-Building Services
Jake Newby
| 4 min read
Key Takeaways
- Hospice of Michigan's Jo Elyn Nyman Anchors Programs for Children cares for approximately 100 terminally ill patients and their families each year.
- The program used a 2024 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation grant to boost its memory-making services and hire a legacy care specialist.
- Memory making and legacy-building services include fingerprints, hand molds, foot molds, jewelry engravings and printouts of a child’s heartbeat for families to keep.
- The lauded program allows parents to focus on being parents to their children instead of caregivers, while Hospice of Michigan fills that role.
Planning hospice care for a child is an unthinkable endeavor for any parent. That’s why Hospice of Michigan goes above and beyond to provide comprehensive care, comfort and peace to Michigan families through personalized bereavement support and a wide array of legacy-building services.
“Nobody comes into life expecting to lose a child,” said Elizabeth Rocha, MSN, RN CHPPN, Hospice of Michigan Associate Vice President of Pediatrics & Nursing Practice. “That grief can be intense, and it can be different for every parent.”
The Jo Elyn Nyman Anchors Programs for Children takes a holistic approach to pediatric hospice care, offering support to bereaved families for an extended period time after a child’s passing, regularly surpassing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 13-month requirement period. Each year, the program cares for approximately 100 terminally ill patients and their families.
“Our support extends as long as the family needs it,” Rocha said. “So, if that’s two years, 10 years, whatever a family needs, we will extend that offer.”
In 2024, the program received a $25,000 Community Health Matching Grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) Foundation, which helped bolster memory-making services and support the hiring of a legacy care specialist.
“Part of this grant helped us secure a legacy care specialist, who is also a child life specialist trained to understand the stages of emotional and mental processing,” Rocha explained. “That’s critical not just for the child, but also for siblings. She helps them understand what’s happening in an age- appropriate way.”
Rocha said the addition of their legacy care specialist distinguishes the Anchors Programs for Children apart from other pediatric hospice service options.
“We’re not just focusing on the patient,” she said. “We now have someone who can focus on age-appropriate communication and care for siblings, cousins, and friends, depending on what stage the child is at. She also leads grief support, which is essential because children process grief differently than adults.”
How tailored projects like photography, hand molds and heartbeat recordings support grieving families throughout the state
“We help families try to plan for the unthinkable,” Rocha said. “We try to make the best of a really bad situation.”
“Whether babies are born alive or not, we create fingerprints, hand molds, foot molds, and take photos” she added. “We can engrave fingerprints onto jewelry or print a child’s heartbeat.”
A special stethoscope even records a child’s heartbeat and places it inside a teddy bear so parents can hear it when they squeeze the toy. “These may seem like small things, but for families who have lost a child, they’re tangible ways to hold and remember them,” Rocha said.
Rocha added that the program consistently receives heartfelt feedback. “One parent shared that the program allowed her to be her son’s mother, not his caregiver or nurse. We provided the medical care he required, but she got to just be his mom,” she added. “As a mom myself, I think it’s important to remember that sometimes parents don’t get to just be parents when a child is very sick. Our program gives them that space.”
“The thoughtful, personalized mental health and grief support provided through this program demonstrates why Hospice of Michigan is nationally recognized as a leader in end-of-life care,” said BCBSM Foundation Program Officer Audrey Rogal. “It’s been an honor to support the Jo Elyn Nyman Anchors Programs for Children and help as many families as possible with these services.”
Learn more about BCBSM Foundation’s Community Health Matching Grant program by clicking here, including eligibility and application information.
Photo credit: Hospice of Michigan
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