I wish there were more places like this for children and for adults. While there seems to be a lot of talk about people preferring to die at home, how many of us adults don't have family close by (or at all)? How many families really want to turn their home into a hospice facility? What is a person without medical training or aptitude to do when they are alone with the patient and no help is available when needed? I am somewhat familiar with board and care homes that are certified as hospice level providers. Their employees are not allowed to give medication. They must wait for a nurse or doctor from the assigned hospice team to arrive and administer medication. If I were the patient, the idea of having to wait for someone to be told I needed help and then wait until they arrived would cause me a lot of anxiety. We need real hospice facilities that are fully staffed, including professional who are licensed to prescribe and administer medications.

The special grace, elegance, and depth of compassion which I have witnessed first hand in hospice workers is unlike anything I have ever encountered. They possess a special gift of listening, of simply "being" while comforting their patient as well as the families and loved ones of that individual. I only wish there were more places like Crescent Cove because unfortunately the need and demand is overwhelming. If I ever win the lottery, making certain more of these hospice homes for children would be at the top of my "must do regardless" list. Bless all who work at Crescent Cove, and especially all terminally ill children and their families.

I am in tears. Very often I disagree with the NY Times political coverage and mutter about what their purpose is. THIS IS IT. Thank you.

We need more of this... An affirmation of humanity. And it doesn't take much, a fraction of war cost

In 2006, Exceptional Care for Children opened in Delaware to provide "transitional, long-term and palliative, or end-of-life care to pediatrics". Far from being a place of despair, it is a place of hope, comfort, and even normalcy.

What a profoundly moving piece. I'm a little disappointed in myself for never considering the need for children's hospice homes, but now that I know they exist and what peace and dignity they bring to dying children and their families, I'll be seeking out how I can help. Thank you for this article.

I'm crying. At work. The fact that there are people doing this for sick children and their families shows me that there are living angels out there. I'm going to see how I can support these children's hospices, and will pass the word on.

We can expect to see more of this suffering, with even more horrifying terminal diseases, as women's reproductive rights are further restricted.

Palliative and hospice care treats the patient and family, and prepares the family for how to go on living after the family member dies. Support your local non profit community based hospice programs. The family you help may be your own. And those of us who do hospice work (paid and volunteer) believe it is an honor to do this work. We receive at least as much as we give.

If you are a billionaire and wondering what to do with your money, please don't buy a 91 million dollar stainless steel rabbit. Please purchase multiple residential homes and turn them into hospice homes. A dear friend of my mind died last year from multiple sclerosis and was fortunate to get a room at a Sharp Hospice home here in San Diego. The home was a beautifully appointed house in a residential neighborhood; I was able to stay overnight until he died. It is so moving to read about the experience of the families in this story. It makes a big difference to have a home atmosphere along with 24/7 end of life care.

This...this right here is why I wish I were rich. This cause deserves money, and lots of it. Hospice, and especially children's hospice, should have overflowing coffers. No family should have to worry about finances while they watch their child die. I can't even imagine...

I can't even finish this article because my heart hurts so badly for these families, living out every parent's worst nightmare. But what a wonderful idea and what heroes who make it happen. I would help out in any way I could.

Cover the living, cover the terminally ill, cover the families. Americans should neither go into debt for healthcare nor fight with insurance companies for compassionate coverage. and care.

I hardly a religious person, but, if there are angels, they are here on earth.

I once knew two hematologists-oncologists who ran the pediatric blood cancer program at a major medical center in the late 1970s. Unlike today, back then, only perhaps 10 - 15% of the patients could have their lives extended to any appreciable degree. The others quickly succumbed to various blood cancers. The doctors watched the rest of the patients and their families have to endure the suffering. Despite the enormous value of the care given these children, I know that I could not achieve the emotional distance or mindfulness to avoid rapid burnout or worse. Some cry out, "God, why me?" only to be answered with, "Why not you?"

This is one of the most moving articles I have ever read. I wish I had a lot of money to contribute to building a facility like this. Is there a fund I can give to? Perhaps I should play the lottery because I have no idea how else to get that kind of money. Ironically, there is another front page NYT article about a person buying a stainless steel bunny sculpture for $91.1 million. It happens to be the father of Treasury Secretary Mnuchin. I am sickened by self centered misused of wealth when there is obvious dire need everywhere. I pray that the Mnuchins and their friends will read this article and have a sense of guilt and shame every time they admire that acquisition.

The intrinsic and profound value of these hospices for children, and the medical and respite care they provide to dying children and their families,is so abundantly clear. These facilities can be safe havens, even places of light and joy, providing a wide range of support to dying children and their families during periods of incomprehensible darkness, grief and struggle. Their only critics? As you'd guess, hospital administrators, and the associated consultants and lobbyists of traditional healthcare models, who see them as a threat to a profit center within their hidebound care systems. The irony in hearing one of these administrators clamoring for fiscal responsibility is rich. Capitalism and compassionate health care are, in so many ways, diametrically opposed. An enlightened society simply MUST have these facilities. And their value cannot be viewed solely through the cold, calculating prism of cost-effectiveness and dollars per-day, or cost-per-bed. Sound pie-in-the-sky? It's not. Other countries make it work, and their health systems run just fine. Beautifully written article, kudos to the author, editor and NYT.