ASHIC PROGRAMS
ASHIC PALLIATIVE CARE UNIT
Palliative care is a growing area of medicine that manages the symptoms of terminally ill children. Oftentimes, parents will be forced to deny their child palliative care because it is simply too expensive to transport them back home after their passing. To combat this, the PCU has developed a program to educate parents on how to give palliative care to their child, from the comfort of their own home. Once parents are home they can access the medical staff at ASHIC via phone or they can go to the PCU for a follow up appointment and their cost for going back home will be covered by ASHIC. This reduces stress on both the patient and their parents, it also gives patients a more peaceful end of life.
SUPPORT - A - LIFE
The “Support-A-Life” program provides financial support for children whose parents do not have the financial means to do so. One of the main reasons for relapses within kids with Retinoblastoma, Germ Cell Tumor and Hodgkin's disease is, not following through with supportive treatment because their parents cannot afford it. This program is designed to prevent that, matching a donor to pay for a portion of the child’s treatment costs, letting them continue, and preventing relapses.
TREAT - A - CHILD
The “Treat-A-Child” program supports kids that cannot pay the treatment cost of support for Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. In recent years ASHIC has found that patients of Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma have a one hundred percent survival rate when they get treatment for this disease. This program uses the general donations towards Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma to support patient’s treatment costs.
OUTING PROGRAM
The “Outing” program takes children and their families outside of the hospital environment so that they can focus on something positive. It provides the children an escape from their pain and enjoy being a regular child again.
PLAY CENTERS
Though play centers may seem irrelevant in a hospital to most people, the founders of ASHIC recognized its healing properties for the children. The founders viewed the importance of the play center in their own child, Ashiq, they watched as he enthusiastically played with the toys in the single most brightest room in the otherwise, rather dull hospital. They watched as his eyes lit up and he forgot about the pain that he was going through for a moment. Recognizing the importance of this, a play structure was one of the first programs that the founders introduced through the ASHIC foundation. These playrooms have been integrated into 4 hospitals as of now, they include a volunteer supervisor and toys.
ASHIC SHELTER
A 21-bed + one isolation bed facility for families traveling to Dhaka for treatment. The Shelter was started to help support families that discontinue treatment due to the prohibitive costs and living conditions of being in the capital city. The Shelter has directly impacted survival rates by encouraging families to complete treatment and come back for maintenance treatment.
ASHIC MOBILE PALLIATIVE CLINIC
On May 20th2019 ASHIC launched Bangladesh’s first "ASHIC Mobile Pediatric Palliative Care Clinic" (ASHIC Mobile PPCC). Funded by a grant from NVIDIA, a U.S. technology company, the Mobile PPCC will provide transportation services and other facilities for 2 years to an estimated 600 children living in rural areas, accompanied with a community awareness campaign.
The uniquely fitted ambulance has already provided transportation to more than 100 cases of palliative patients within the city, and back to their rural homes. Transport is also provided for deceased children, to be taken to their home villages for proper burial rites.
PSYCHO SOCIAL SUPPORT
ASHIC provides psychosocial support through Somobyathi (counseling sessions for parents conducted by medical practitioners and mediators), Patients Service (from its birth in 1994 ASHIC provides pleasure to parents and patients by aiding them in whatever way possible) and Parents Support Groups.
ASHIC VOLUNTEER CLUB
The “AVC” lets applicants that are interested in working with children apply to do so. All applicants have to do is sign a form and turn in a hard copy to the head office of ASHIC Foundation for Childhood Cancer located at 52 Dhanmondi R/A, Satmasjid Road , Dhaka -1209.
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High school children at home and abroad can earn their volunteer hours with ASHIC as we are a registered NGO in Bangladesh.