A unique pediatric hospital in Italy: immersed in an area of 16 thousand square meters of greeneryThe "L'arca sull'albero" Hospice in Bologna welcomes patients, along with their families, from 0 to 18 years old. These children and young people have very complex, or even incurable, illnesses that could require hospitalization for several years, until their death.
The project, completed in June 2024, was designed by the studio of Genoese architect Renzo Piano, while the multidisciplinary team of specialists working in the "Tree Ark" were trained through specific courses, university master's degrees, and internships, organized by the Academy of Palliative Medicine, the educational arm of the Maria Teresa Chiantore Seràgnoli Onlus Hospice Foundation. At the Bologna pediatric hospital, they interact three different populations: children with serious illnesses, adults accompanying the children, who may reside in the complex, and, finally, those who provide care (doctors and healthcare workers). All together on the same ark, to paraphrase the name chosen for such a special place.
The goal, even considering the lengthy protocols being implemented, is to go well beyond treatment and therapies, to give children the opportunity to play in a natural setting, to feel in a welcoming, protected, and warm environment—unlike the wards that hospitalized patients are accustomed to.
The facility, accredited by the Region, offers beds and is organized with 14 single rooms with a caregiver bed and a covered terrace, and 8 apartments for patients' families. The outpatient area includes 7 multidisciplinary clinics and an "Ark Day" day care service. There are also a physical medicine and rehabilitation area, a meditation area, and a farewell room.
There are four types of hospitalization: intermediate hospital-to-home and/or home-to-home hospitalizations, which are required during the transition from hospital to home to train the caregiver who will care for the patient after the care received in the hospital; hospitalizations for periods of respite, intended to ease the psychological and care burden of families and to support them in managing any critical moments outside the programs under the jurisdiction of the local service; consultancy hospitalizations to improve the patient's clinical condition, to manage critical situations due to pain and other difficult-to-control symptoms; end-of-life hospitalizations, where requested by the family, to accompany the patient through the final stages of the disease and ensure adequate psychological support for the patient and his/her family. caregiver.
(Image credits: (Emilia Romagna Region website)
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