Dear Friends,
As we come to the end of the year, I just want to take a few moments to wish you and yours a very happy Christmas from all of us at LauraLynn Children’s Hospice and to thank you all for your support this year.
2023 was a momentous year for LauraLynn, a year marked by growth and expansion as we came to the end of our current Strategic Plan and worked towards preparing the next strategy which will launch in early 2024.
Great progress was made this year in realising our ambition to reach more children and families than ever before with the further expansion of our Community Team. In May we announced that the team based in Mallow would extend to reach children and families across county Limerick and in September we announced a new base with a team in Ballinasloe which will start providing care across the Midlands, West and North-West of the country early in the new year.
We had lots of improvements to our campus in 2023 with a new signage project completed bringing more colour to our site and we also completed our renovations of our Children’s Disability unit Hazel House in early 2023. In consultation with the people living in Willow View, an accessible sensory garden was created, giving a lovely space to relax and enjoy the sounds, smells and colours in the garden.
A highlight for our Hospice service during 2023 was receiving CHKS Accreditation. Accreditation by CHKS provides a standards-based framework for quality assurance and quality improvement. Taking part in the process of accreditation gives an organisation the resilience and vigilance required to deliver consistently high-quality healthcare services.
We welcomed some very special guests to LauraLynn throughout 2023 with visits from the IRFU, the cast of the Lion King and the Ghostbusters Car. We also continued our advocacy work with engagement with government with visits from Minster for Arts Catherine Martin and Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly.
Our Board of Directors welcomed three new members during 2023 with Dr Regina Mc Quillan, Deirdre O'Connor and Paul Kerrigan joining us.
As always, I want to thank our incredible board, staff, volunteers, supporters, donors, and Ambassadors who have supported us throughout the year. Your commitment and dedication to LauraLynn is so encouraging. We are so fortunate to have such wonderful supporters who share our vision of making every day better for those in our care.
And finally, I would like to wish all the children, families, adults, and all in LauraLynn’s Community of Care, a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful Christmas and every best wish for 2024.
Sandra O’Malley – Chairperson
