A special place, creating forever memories

 
A special place, creating forever memories

With your support, we can give a family who is caring for a child with a life-limiting or terminal illness a much-needed break.

Rainbow Place is an extraordinary service, dedicated to providing the very best care and support to children who are living with a life-limiting condition.

Rainbow Place is more than just a service. It provides full wrap-around care, giving families peace of mind knowing that their child is well cared for, both emotionally and physically, by a team of caring and dedicated health professionals. Rainbow Place care reaches out to families where they need it most, in their homes, at school, in the marae and the hospital.

Respite care for families is a crucial part of the service and is offered to families to help ensure they are getting the support (and sleep) they need. Our Rainbow Place families are often in desperate need of a little rest, to recharge, to have some normal family time with other siblings and to catch up on simple tasks; tasks that seem nearly impossible when providing around the clock care for a sick child.

We have a dedicated room in our inpatient unit for children’s respite
stays. It is not your typical ‘hospital’ room. Our team carefully personalise the space for each child; changing colour schemes and choosing specialised toys to help them feel happy and relaxed. Respite at Rainbow Place not only gives carers and families a break, but also provides children with a home away from home.

It is a place where they can feel safe and looked after by their team of nurses, healthcare assistants and volunteers.

From Tuesday to Friday, our respite care is in full swing, with no two days ever alike. Children enjoy music therapy, and a variety of sensory play sessions that let their imaginations come alive. Outdoor activities include bird watching, playing in the sandpit, visits to the lake and playgrounds all under the watchful eye of our health care assistants 24/7.

Jess Godfrey (pictured) is a RainbowPlace healthcare assistant. Jess has beenworking in children’s hospice care for many years.

“Every day, we see children smiling and laughing as they get to explore and meet their new friends around Rainbow Place and Hospice Waikato. I love seeing how the relationships with these kids grow over each visit. I have an opportunity to learn about each child in for respite, and they have these amazing personalities and quirks. Each day is different; some are full of paint, laughter, water play, and others are more about rest, support, and symptom control. Every day, the brave, joyful, sweet personalities of our respite children shine through,” says Jess.

Our Rainbow Place service enables ourmfamilies to get to know their healthcare professionals on a more personal basis. Jess describes this as an integral part of
the service allowing the families to feel supported, especially during stressful times. Our families know that they can always count on assistance from the Rainbow Place team, whenever and wherever it’s needed.

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Facts at a glance
• We have 46 children under our care at the moment. 38% of them are less than five years old.
• When broken down by the type of disorder from which they suffer, neurological diseases are the most common, followed by respiratory and cardiac.
• We had 37 admissions to the Inpatient Unit for terminal care, symptom control and respite care in 2020.
• The Rainbow Place nurses made 209 home visits, either in person or virtually, to our children’s families in 2020.

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