LauraLynn to establish second regional base in Ballinasloe
Ireland's only children's hospice LauraLynn has announced it is to establish its second regional base in Ballinasloe.
LauraLynn is now recruiting for a range of roles to support the new service including Team Lead, Clinical Nurse Manager, Staff Nurses and a Music Therapist. Interested candidates can find more information on the charity’s website or can meet with some of the team at a Recruitment Open Day in the Shearwater Hotel, Ballinasloe, Galway on September 21 from 2-8pm.
In 2022, LauraLynn opened its first regional community-based service in Mallow, Cork. The team based in Mallow provides a range of services to families in Cork, Kerry and more recently in Limerick. The demand for the service from families has been extensive with more than 1,000 home visits already completed by the team.
Having reviewed the impact that the service is having on children and their families the charity is now planning to open a second regional community service from a base in Ballinasloe. The service in Mallow and the planned new service in Ballinasloe build on a long and successful history of the community service that LauraLynn has delivered in Leinster.
From a base in Ballinasloe, specialised in-home hospice and palliative care supports will be offered to children and their families in the Midlands, West & Northwest of the country.
In total, LauraLynn hopes to support at least 200 children and their families annually through regional and Dublin-based LauraLynn in the Community Teams by 2024, equating to more than 2,800 home visits.
LauraLynn in the Community is an extension and enhancement of the care and supports available to families at the charity’s purpose-built facility in Leopardstown, Dublin.
Similar to its Mallow and Dublin Community based teams LauraLynn will have a multi-disciplinary team working out of Ballinasloe providing care and supports to whole family units, including parents, siblings, grandparents, and the wider family across the Midlands, West & Northwest of the country. Medical care will be available in the child’s home along with additional palliative care supports including Music Therapy.
Speaking at LauraLynn as it announced the expansion to Ballinasloe, Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, commented: "I am delighted to be at LauraLynn today to help announce the establishment of LauraLynn’s new Community Service in Ballinasloe. It’s wonderful to visit the Hospice in Dublin today and have the opportunity to speak with some of the team and the families that the charity support. I know from meeting families that there is an incredible impact on them and their child when services are available close to home. This expansion by LauraLynn is an important step in helping us to reach our goal to ensure universal access to end-of-life care’’.
Kerry McLaverty, CEO of LauraLynn, said: "We are delighted to welcome Minister for Health Stephen Donelly here today as we officially announce our new Ballinasloe, LauraLynn in the Community Service. This new community-based service ensures we can reach children and families who need LauraLynn support across the Midlands, West & Northwest of the country. Following the opening of our Mallow based community service last year which now services families across Cork, Kerry and Limerick, Ballinasloe is an important step in bringing care closer to home for more children and families who need us so we can be there to support on the toughest journey a family can face.”
Since opening in 2011, LauraLynn has cared for over 680 children and their families, with more than 500 families currently availing of care and supports. This figure also includes bereaved families who avail of bereavement supports and attend LauraLynn events.