FAQs

The children, adolescents and young adults who come to Sternenbrücke have been diagnosed with a life-shortening illness. The most common conditions are metabolic and muscular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, severe multiple disabilities and different types of cancer.
You will find additional information here.

At Sternenbrücke we admit children, adolescents and young adults up to the age of 27.

No, families come to Sternenbrücke for respite care stays – which account for around 80% of our work at Sternenbrücke – for care and counseling during the final stage of life as well as after they have lost their child in order to make use of our grief support services.

No, affected families from all over Germany can be admitted to Sternenbrücke.

Families can spend a maximum of 28 (scheduled) days a year at Sternenbrücke to receive respite care. The same applies, in addition, in crisis situations. If he or she is in the final stage of life, a terminally ill young person can stay for an indefinite period.

Sick guests are always allowed to bring their family members with them to Sternenbrücke, whether for a respite care stay or during their final stage of life. With the various services we have, we want to help families get rest and renewed strength so that they are able to continue to provide the level of care their child needs. The aim is also to alleviate their feeling that they are on their own and to provide them with both emotional and physical relief.
For each sick young visitor, one room is available for family members and, if necessary, up to three rooms for siblings.

The Sternenbrücke children’s hospice offers support for families in the form of grief counselling, sibling support through a team of specialists and grief counselors during the stays as well as advice and assistance relating to the social care support and benefits available. Daily visits from doctors help the families as the disease progresses.

You will find additional information on our services here.

In spite of a shortage of specialists in the nursing sector, we always try to guarantee a 2:1 ratio of staff to sick young people. In addition, we have an on-call unit that is always on standby in order to provide help in emergency situations or to allow for the immediate admission of young people in their final stage of life. When a child has reached this stage, is severely ill or requires a ventilator, his or her family is attended to by only one care specialist at a 1:1 ratio around the clock.

During a family’s stay at the Sternenbrücke children’s hospital, our social care team will meet with the individual families to carry out a needs assessment. In so doing, there is a special focus on providing assistance to the family in connection with household tasks and making use of available support options.

No, the families do not incur any costs. Health insurance and nursing care funds pay around 60 percent of the costs for the care of our guests. The remaining 40 percent as well as the costs for accommodating family members are covered by donations. In this way, we can take in all families – regardless of their individual financial situation.

The Sternenbrücke children’s hospice was opened in 2003.

In children’s and youth hospices, the entire family can be admitted. The family’s visit is usually not limited to the sick child’s final stage of life; they can also come for respite care stays.
In addition, children’s and youth hospices are primarily set up to meet the needs of their young guests. This is not only reflected in the support and care services offered, but also in the corresponding interior design.

We can admit up to twelve families at one time, but we always keep a room free in case we need to admit a family at short notice if their child requires end-of-life care.

People from the following occupational groups work at Sternenbrücke: healthcare and (pediatric) nursing care specialists, doctors, grief counselors, experienced pediatricians and palliative care doctors, physiotherapists, (special education) teachers, a music therapist, a swim therapist, a bridge nurse, as well as kitchen, housekeeping, building services, public relations and accounting staff.

At present, the comprehensive care and support of a family at the Sternenbrücke children’s hospice costs an average of 1,380.00 euros per day. Around 60 percent of the costs, particularly the costs of caring for the sick child, are paid by health insurance and nursing care funds. However, since Sternenbrücke not only cares for the sick child but also offers many forms of support for the family in order to provide stability during this difficult time, around 40 percent of the costs are not covered by statutory funding.

Sternenbrücke is financed by payments from health insurance and nursing care funds as well as, to a large extent, through donations that are collected by both the Sternenbrücke children’s hospice foundation and the friends’ association of the children’s hospital.

Sternenbrücke’s annual donation needs are around 2.1 million euros.

There are many ways to support the work of Sternenbrücke and help make sure that affected families are not alone on their difficult journey.

Monetary donation

Sternenbrücke’s work can be actively supported through financial assistance. For example, individual people or companies can start charity campaigns or forego presents at birthdays, christenings, weddings, anniversaries or company parties and instead request a donation. In addition, it is possible to support Sternenbrücke by becoming a member of the friends’ association of Kinder-Hospiz Sternenbrücke e.V. Online donations are also possible. We provide an online donation form for this purpose.

In-kind donation

In addition to financial support, in-kind donations are a welcome aid for providing targeted support. We keep a wish list – which is updated daily – on our homepage that shows various household items that are needed to provide care for children with life-shortening illnesses and their families.

Time donation

An additional welcome form of support is a time donation. This is often done in the form of regular volunteer work. Many companies also organize so-called hands-on projects. Spending a few hours to help take care of the lawn or playground equipment is an example of this.

Estate

A will or bequest can be a means of providing help on a permanent basis – beyond one’s own life – to children, adolescents and young adults with life-shortening illnesses, as well as to their families. This is because, as an endowment contribution to the Sternenbrücke children’s hospice foundation, the assets will not be lost but instead will support the work of the children’s hospice with regular interest earnings.

You will find additional information here.

Formed in 1999, the friends’ association preceded and paved the way for the Sternenbrücke children’s hospital. It boasts over 1,500 members and primarily collects donations. In addition, big birthdays (e.g. turning 40, 50, 60...), baptisms, weddings, wedding anniversaries, confirmations and other special occasions are always a good opportunity to ask for monetary donations instead of material gifts. The donations and contributions with which members of the friends’ association regularly support the children’s hospice are provided by the association to the Sternenbrücke children’s hospice foundation, which was founded in 2001, to fund the work of Sternenbrücke. The funds are preserved on a permanent basis and work over the long term. This allows the foundation to support projects at the children’s hospice with the interest earnings generated.

Both organizations are recognized as non-profit and charitable.

No, our services are religiously independent.

Since 2005, we have dedicated a special place in a separte garden to the memories of our young guests. For each young person who has passed away at Sternenbrücke, a small lamp bearing their name is set up here. In this way, the Garden of Memory gives affected families a place where they can quitely remember their child and reflect on his or her final journey at Sternenbrücke.

In addition to the Sternenbrücke children’s hospice in Hamburg, there are 18 other in-patient children’s and adolescent hospices throughout Germany for children, adolescents and young adults (two of these are day hospices).

(As of 2023; source: Deutscher Hospiz- und PalliativVerband e.V. and Deutscher Kinderhospizverein e. V.)

Above all, children’s hospices offer respite for families with children, adolescents or young adults who suffer from life-shortening illnesses. In this connection, we provide palliative care to relieve the young person’s suffering and to improve their quality of life, very much in the spirit of “our” motto: “We can’t add more days to one’s life, but we can add more life to one’s days”. The main aim of children’s hospice work is to give the affected families – who have often been providing continuous care for years – a chance to recharge their batteries. In addition, sharing and talking with other affected families can help. A further focus of the work is grief counselling. The services offered at the children’s hospice can help stabilize the family unit and thus continue to ensure that in-home care is possible.

Yes, persons with a life-shortening illness who are covered by statutory health insurance, have a claim to hospice services in Germany. Hospice services can be used at in-patient facilities or also on an outpatient basis in the child’s familiar surroundings. However, the admission of family members is mainly possible in children’s and adolescent hospices.

The expression “life-limiting illness” means an incurable illness that leads to a shorter life expectancy.

According to estimates, there are around 50,000 children, adolescents and young adults with an incurable illness living in Germany.

(As of 2020; source: Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend)

Within the scope of “respite care”, the Sternenbrücke children’s hospice provides care for sick young persons and their families not only during the final stage of life, but also throughout the course of the illness, which can often go on for many years. This accounts for around 80 percent of the work of the children’s hospice. Targeted nursing and educational services help the affected families to further cope with their child’s illness and draw renewed strength for their continued journey.

Grieving already begins at the diagnosis stage. An uncertain future, the gradual loss of abilities and, increasingly, of autonomy: this frequently causes grief which requires counselling. At Sternenbrücke, specially trained grief counsellors are at the families’ side during the respite stays and in the final stage of life. The goal is to support the grieving families with various services and to find an individual path for each individual person. The services offered range from confidential discussions to different (individual) farewell rituals to creative activities.
Even after their child has died, we continue to provide loving support and comfort to families with various services.

If you make a purchase in our online shop, you will be providing finanical support to the Sternenbrücke children’s hospice and, in addition, you will be helping us to generate publicity for our work, since all products feature our logo, motto or the contact details of Sternenbrücke.

Our bank account details are:

Donation accounts of the Sternenbrücke children’s hospice foundation

Hamburger Volksbank | IBAN: DE 65 2019 0003 0019 0991 00 | BIC: GENODEF1HH2

Hamburger Sparkasse | IBAN: DE69 2005 0550 1001 3007 87 | BIC: HASPDEHHXXX

Donation accounts of Förderverein für das Kinder-Hospiz Sternenbrücke e.V. (friends’ association)

Hamburger Volksbank | IBAN: DE54 2019 0003 0002 3333 33 | BIC: GENODEF1HH2

Donate via PayPal

www.sternenbruecke.de/paypal

Support via text-to-give

Send the keyword STERNENBRUECKE to the shortened number 81190. 5.00 euros (plus the costs charged by the respective provider for sending a text) will be deducted from your next cell phone bill, with 4.83 euros going to us. This service is possible from anywhere in Germany. However, since this is not a traditional donation for tax purpses, we cannot issue a donation receipt.

Due to hygiene regulations and the various allergies of our guests, we cannot accept used toys, etc.

But there are always “heart’s desires” at Sternenbrücke whose fulfillment would greatly please us. Small and large items that we need can be found on our wish list, which is updated daily.

Donors are very welcome to deliver in-kind or monetary donations to us in person at Sternenbrücke. Unfortunately, a tour of our rooms is not possible since we protect our guests’ privacy and want to give them the quiet that they need. If you wish to deliver a donation in person, you can set up an appointment by telephone at 040 - 81 99 12 0 or by e-mail at info@sternenbruecke.de.

We cordially invite interested persons to our annual “Open House Day” at Sternenbrücke on May 1 between noon and 6:00 pm. The rooms in the hospice are not occupied on this day and can be visited.

Yes, we greatly appreciate all the help and support we receive. For this reason, we are always looking for volunteers who can contribute in different ways at the hospice. The following requirements apply: Volunteers must be between 18 and 75 years old, physically healthy, and regularly work a half-day per week at Sternenbrücke. Potential volunteers should not have experienced the death of a person to whom they were very close in the last three years.

You will find additional information on volunteering at Sternenbrücke here.

Volunteers perform a wide range of jobs that extend across all functional areas – with the exception of medical and nursing tasks. For example, volunteers help out with sibling support, at the reception desk, with administrative work, in public relations or with domestic tasks.

We prefer that volunteers provide their services several times per month, if possible. It can be very challenging to be around sick children and their families, so our volunteers are given a two-week training course before they can officially get started. Many hands are necessary as each individual person is limited in terms of how much time they can donate.

A one-off time donation is possible within the scope of a hands-on project. Since there is always plenty of work to do at Sternenbrücke, we are grateful for people who offer this kind of help, for example by taking care of the garden, repairing play equipment and much more. Learn more about hands-on projects at Sternenbrücke here.

We would love for you to support us with a project or event and would be happy to provide you with information material, collection jars, etc.
If you would like to have a personal meeting or receive advice on implementing your project/event, please contact our event team at:

Public relations, events

Christin Hagen und Sonja Kretschmann

Telephone: 040 - 81 99 12 74

E-mail: veranstaltungen@sternenbruecke.de

I organized a call for donations for Sternenbrücke. How much money did this end up raising?

If you made a call for donations for us, we would first like to say “thank you” from the bottom of our hearts. You can get information about donation amounts collected from our accounts department at:

Financial accounting (management)

Margrit Oesterreich

Telephone: 040 - 81 99 12 46

E-mail: margrit.oesterreich@sternenbruecke.de