A Christmas Visit to Station 67

It's a rainy day in Hanover. I'm a little excited because today I'm visiting Station 67 at Hanover Medical School, the largest children's intensive care unit in Germany. A project close to our hearts at Passier, which we are now supporting for the fourth year with our Christmas donation. I have been in contact with Dr. Michael Sasse, the senior consultant and, in my opinion, the "soul of the station", so often by telephone. Today we finally got to meet in person.

At the main entrance to the children's hospital, I am first greeted by Rut Wilde. She works on the station as a specialist in intensive care and anesthesia. She wrote to us because she was curious to find out who was behind the annual donations from our company. As a small thank you, she invited me to the station – and there I was, in the largest children's intensive care unit in our country, where I was allowed to ask my questions.

A star shines

For example: there are eight rooms on the station where the young patients are cared for. Only four are occupied. Why is that? The answer is as simple as it is bad. There is no staff! My first thought is: eight-hour shifts in a patient room alongside seriously ill children probably don't fit into the work-life balance of many people. But everyone I meet today has a smile on their face and is very friendly.

Of course, you also see thoughtful and occasionally sad faces on the station on an afternoon like this. A star shines in a station room to explain this. "The star shines for 24 hours when a child has died and lost the fight against their illness," says Rut Wilde. I have to swallow, because of course this doesn't pass me by without sad thoughts. I can well imagine that this also leaves its mark on the colleagues on the station. Also because the little patients are sometimes guests in the lovingly designed station for a very long time.

The children lie in colorful rooms to create a feel-good atmosphere, as far as this is possible in an intensive care unit. A volume traffic light is attached to one wall. A green ear symbol lights up. If it gets too loud in the patient's room, the ear changes color from orange to red. "Pain, stress and anxiety lead to fatigue and other problems during intensive care treatment, which make the recovery process more difficult," explains Dr. Sasse, "which is why a quiet atmosphere is important for the patient's recovery."

I have since learned that adult patients are also being cared for on the station. Dr. Sasse explains that these patients have childhood heart defects. Station 67 is more familiar with these particularly complex heart defects than the normal cardiology station.

The financial situation is difficult

I also learn that the pediatric intensive care units are always allocated the least money compared to other units. Yet the costs of a pediatric intensive care unit are many times higher simply because of the materials required! This is because all materials in a wide range of sizes, from newborn to adult size, must be available at all times. More and more pediatric intensive care units in Germany are therefore having to close for cost reasons. In a conversation, I learn that the pediatric intensive care unit of a town with 70,000 inhabitants and an even larger catchment area in the south of the republic is being closed for cost reasons, not economically viable enough. I am at a loss for words. Because our children, who are our future, will be cared for on these station. They need the best possible help at these times. Our future is being saved here!

Hope around the world

However, the report on the very good cooperation with other clinics and pediatric intensive care units to help all those who cannot be admitted in Hanover gives hope. This is because requests come in daily from all over Germany. Most of them have to be turned down due to a lack of capacity. For this reason, local medical colleagues are instructed through further training, consultations and telemedicine, so that critically ill children there also receive the best possible care.

We have been supporting the construction of a children's intensive care unit in Sri Lanka since 2004. It began after the terrible tsunami disaster. At that time, with the support and assistance of Station 67, a separate intensive care unit with seven beds and isolation facilities in accordance with international standards was created. Since then, more than 1,000 young patients who would otherwise have died have been helped here. Every year, a team of doctors and nurses travels to Sri Lanka to train their colleagues there. The colleagues from Sri Lanka also regularly visit Hanover to learn new things for their daily work.

What donations make possible ...

Rut Wilde explains to me that our donations also make it possible to give small gifts to the children on the station. These are important when the little patients have been particularly brave during an examination, for example, or have achieved a stage victory in the fight against their illness or have survived an operation well. The small gifts are accompanied by lovingly designed certificates from the nursing staff. Another special feature here on the station are the many colorful blankets, bed linen and shirts, which bring a little normality into the otherwise very white hospital routine. These are also financed by donations.

At the end of my visit, I come to a room that is not occupied at the moment. A room for saying goodbye has been created here. Children receiving palliative care can make their final journey here with their loved ones. The equipment is concealed and a mood light under the ceiling creates a calm atmosphere. There is also a bed for the parents to sleep in, hidden in the wall, and a seating area invites them to spend some time together as a family and allows the young terminally ill children to say goodbye with their loved ones. I pause for a moment. And it fills me with awe to see what important work is done here every day by Dr. Sasse, Rut Wilde and their colleagues.

This makes it all the more important to support the important work of the specialists with donations and to make this difficult time easier for families. For example, one wall in the farewell room is still completely bare, and there is a lack of music players in the rooms to play soft music, audio books or the voices of their loved ones to the young patients. There are so many other things that are needed. Because not only the patients, but also the fantastic team on Station 67, all of whom put their heart and soul into doing their best, need a little something from time to time, be it just a fruit basket or a few sweets.

As Dr. Sasse and Rut Wilde accompany me to the door of the children's hospital to say goodbye, I thank them very much for the really "intensive" insights into the great work of Station 67. I am happy and grateful to have met these wonderful people – and that we can support them in their important work with our donations. We also do this on behalf of our customers. Because part of our Christmas donation is the money we used to spend on Christmas cards. 

Because every donation is important on the station: I would be delighted if even more people or companies could be found who would like to support the largest children's intensive care unit. After all, humanity, empathy and respect are of the utmost importance here. You can feel that here on the Station every minute – and that makes you really happy.

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones – and stay healthy!

Yours, Eva Kannemeier