Our house
Our house
- Children's hospice
- Youth hospice
- Impressions
- 360° tour
- Our guests
- FAQ for parents
- Idea and history
At the Balthasar children's hospice, life and laughter take centre stage. The children's short lives should be as fulfilling and positive as possible. Reading aloud, cuddling and having time are therefore just as much a part of our programme as music therapy, hospital clowns and therapy dogs.
Dying and mourning also have their place. Families can be in the house at any time during the last phase of a child's life. Here, dignified and pain-free care is possible until death. The staff are there to support the families and accompany them through the difficult time of mourning.
After the death of the child, the family can take their leave in peace. A farewell area is available for this purpose, which can be personalised. Families whose child has not died at the Balthasar Children's and Youth Hospice can also say goodbye to their child at our centre.
An incurable illness makes people increasingly dependent on the help of others in their everyday lives. This is an enormous psychological burden, especially in adolescence. That is why the motto at the youth hospice is: "as much independence as possible". Electric door openers and a remote control for lights or blinds support the adolescents and young adults in this endeavour. Maintaining their quality of life is the most important goal.
In their final phase of life, the young people can be in the house at any time. At "Balthasar", dignified and pain-free care is possible until death. Especially during the difficult time of saying goodbye, the young people and their relatives find empathetic companions in the staff. After the death, the farewell area is available to the families, which can be personalised.
A place tailored to the needs of teenagers and young adults
As young people transition from childhood to adolescence, the needs of those with life-limiting illnesses change significantly. A youth hospice is specifically designed to meet the needs of teenagers and young adults. At our hospice, guests up to the age of 27 will find a team that recognises and supports their personal development. Whilst parents are closely involved in younger children’s stays, the focus for adolescents is more often on the need for independence and privacy. The premises and daily routine are designed to grant our young guests the greatest possible autonomy, without them having to forego the necessary specialist and nursing care.
Respect for autonomy
Staff at the youth hospice place great importance on upholding and supporting the autonomy of young adults. Care is always provided in close consultation with the guests, ensuring they remain actively involved in decision-making. This respectful approach, treating everyone as equals, is an essential part of our work. In addition to basic care, the main focus is on creating space for the young people. They can organise their daily lives according to their own wishes, retreat to their own space or take part in group activities. The knowledge that guests are receiving professional and respectful support takes the pressure off the whole family.
Interaction with peers
An important factor for young people is contact with peers who find themselves in a similar life situation. Our facility offers guests the opportunity to interact in a safe environment, share experiences and foster mutual understanding. This contact helps to counteract the social isolation that can result from a serious illness. Our staff support this process and provide psychosocial support. In this way, the hospice becomes a place where young people can develop their own identity and maintain valuable social connections despite their illness.
We cordially invite you to take a virtual 360° tour of our building.
The special thing about a children's and young people's hospice is that the entire family is accompanied on their difficult journey. Our work focuses on sick children aged between 0 and around 16 as well as adolescents and young adults up to their mid-20s. They often experience their everyday lives with the loss of physical and mental abilities and a simultaneous increase in the need for help and care. They receive round-the-clock care and support from experienced carers and our psychosocial team.
Parents also find companionship and support. They are relieved of the - often stressful - burden of caring for their children. Regular counselling sessions offer the opportunity to share worries and fears, but also grief, and to exchange ideas with parents in similar life situations.
Siblings have to be considerate when living with a seriously ill child, live with restrictions and are confronted with the topic of death at an early age. Our staff are therefore also there especially for siblings, organising age-appropriate activities for them and giving them the opportunity to experience fun and joy as well as worries and fears.
Before your first stay, we require a certificate from your paediatrician or family doctor confirming that you have an incurable, life-shortening illness. Under this condition, you may stay with us for up to 28 days a year for respite stays. Occupancy planning takes place in consultation with us. We will be happy to advise you on the cost bearers and how to apply for the costs of your stay when you call to arrange an appointment.
Funding for the stay of the sick child is provided by the health insurance fund (nursing care fund), to which you apply for inpatient hospice care in accordance with Section 39a SGB5.
The stay of parents and healthy siblings is not covered by the funding organisations. However, we do not charge you for accommodation and catering. These costs are financed by donations. This applies to around 50 per cent of the costs incurred at the Balthasar Children's and Youth Hospice.
Many donors and professionals from a wide range of professions come to us for a tour of the centre. With a few exceptions, we only give these groups a tour of the rooms in the entrance and administration areas. We ask for your understanding for these measures, as they contribute to financial and non-material support and therefore indirectly benefit you and all other guests. Of course, we would be delighted if you would also support us with a donation within your means.
Of course. We know that many families find it difficult to contact a children's hospice. There is often uncertainty about what to expect there or whether comprehensive care for the child is guaranteed. Some are also unsure whether "hospice" is the right thing for them because their child has only recently been diagnosed with an incurable, life-shortening illness.
We would therefore like to invite you to an individual familiarisation visit, during which we will address your personal questions and possible concerns. You can get to know the Balthasar Children's and Youth Hospice, its working methods, premises and services without any obligation and then decide at your leisure whether you would like to come and stay with your child.
We look forward to getting to know you. Don't hesitate to give us a call and arrange your personal introductory visit. You can reach us by telephone on 02761 9265 40 or by e-mail at kontakt@kinderhospiz.de. Your contact person is our nursing service manager.
The Balthasar Children's and Youth Hospice is the first children's hospice in Germany and has the longest experience in supporting children with life-limiting illnesses and their families. With us, not only the child is in caring and professional hands, but also the whole family. All relatives who are important to the child are supported according to their personal needs - from the time of diagnosis and for as long as we are needed. You set the direction for your child's care. Every step is taken in close consultation with you. We also enable and encourage parents to share their experiences with each other, which many families find very relieving and helpful.
There are regular programmes, activities and excursions for siblings aged 3 and over. Outside of this time, you as parents are responsible for your children. We do not offer supervision for siblings under the age of 3.
Stays without accompanying persons are possible under certain circumstances and by prior arrangement. However, children's and young people's hospice work is largely based on the exchange between families and on accompanying the sick child or young person together with their relatives. It is very important to us to make this possible. A large proportion of the stays should therefore be accompanied by the family.
The Balthasar Children's and Youth Hospice is run by the Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft der Franziskanerinnen zu Olpe mbH (GFO), but is of course open to guests of all faiths. If you have any spiritual questions, we can put you in touch with the chaplains of all denominations or the sisters of the mother house of the Franciscan Sisters of Olpe on request.
You can find more information in our parents' brochure.
As with hospices for adults, the basic principles of paediatric hospice work originated in the UK. We have adopted them and developed them further. Helen House in Oxford was the first children's hospice in the world to open in 1982. There is now a network of over 50 children's hospices in the UK.
The German Children's Hospice Association was founded in 1990 by families with terminally ill children. The association operates nationwide and offers outpatient support for the whole family immediately after the child's diagnosis. When the association was founded in 1990, the main aim was initially to create an inpatient children's hospice in Germany based on the English model.
However, the construction and operation of such a centre entails major economic risks and requires a great deal of experience in the management of social institutions. The German Children's Hospice Association was therefore delighted to find a partner in 1997 in the non-profit organisation Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft der Franziskanerinnen zu Olpe mbH (GFO), which was able to implement the idea in close cooperation. The GFO is a long-established provider of social and charitable institutions that emerged from the Franciscan Sisters of Olpe. There are other GFO child and youth welfare centres in Olpe. In September 1998, the first children's hospice in Germany was opened in Olpe under the auspices of the Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft der Franziskanerinnen zu Olpe mbH (GFO): the Balthasar children's hospice.
At the beginning of 2009, the Balthasar youth hospice was opened as the first German hospice for adolescents and young adults, thus closing a gap between children's and adult hospices. Due to advances in medicine and medical technology, sick children who only a few years ago died as a result of their illness in childhood are now adolescents and young adults. In England, special youth hospices were therefore opened years earlier.
In Germany, however, there was no hospice facility for these young people that met their special needs in terms of illness, psychosocial support or spatial requirements - until the opening of the Balthasar Youth Hospice.
As with the Balthasar children's hospice, the institution is run by the non-profit organisation Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft der Franziskanerinnen zu Olpe mbH (GFO).