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For many years, the Homburg campus has been making a significant social contribution with great dedication – including through providing treatment and support for children with life-limiting illnesses. Research work plays a central role alongside direct patient care.
The Center for Cross-Age Palliative Care and Pediatric Pain Therapy and the Palliative care unit at Saarland University Medical Center offer comprehensive treatment and support for seriously ill children. The special, cross-age concept is designed to provide long-term support and therapy.
In Homburg, steps are already being taken to provide even more intensive long-term care for people with life-limiting illnesses: In mid-December, the official start of construction was marked for Germany's first combined children's and adult hospice, 'Schmetterling' (butterfly). The project is an important signal for strengthening hospice care in Homburg and throughout Saarland.
What many people don't know is that the financing of children's hospice work is only partially covered by the existing systems. Support for parents, siblings, and other relatives in highly stressful situations is even financed exclusively by donations.
"Children's hospice work means much more than caring for young people suffering from a life-shortening illness in their final days. It gives families support, relief, and moments of joy during what are often years of uncertainty," emphasizes professor Sven Gottschling, head of the Centre for intergenerational palliative care and paediatric pain therapy at Saarland University Medical Center. "Children's Hospice Day reminds us how important it is to raise awareness of this support – and to work together to expand it further."
Children's and adult hospice 'Schmetterling'
Centre for intergenerational palliative care and paediatric pain therapy