Buying a Bouquet Goes a Long Way!
by Annette Pinder



This year, the annual Hospice & Palliative Care Buffalo Spring Bouquet Sale takes place from March 1 to March 13. It is Hospice Buffalo’s biggest fundraiser of the year, and helps raise much-needed funds for an amazing organization that helps so many individuals and families in our community. The bouquets, which cost only $10, will brighten your home or office and help get you in the mood for spring. One hundred percent of all donations goes toward supporting the programs below.

Hospice and Palliative Care. Both hospice and palliative care help relieve an individual’s symptoms, and manage pain, to improve life quality. Hospice and palliative care address people’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, and offer support to family and caregivers. 

Hospice is for anyone given an expected prognosis of six months or less, and who no longer wishes to receive treatments. Palliative care is for people with a chronic or progressive illness who are suffering from symptoms or treatment side-effects. It is available at any stage during an illness.  

Essential Care for Children (Infants to Adolescents). This home-based palliative (symptom management) care program provides coordination of medical services, as well as psychosocial, emotional, and spiritual support to seriously ill children and their families. Hospice Buffalo’s pediatric health professionals work with the child’s doctor to develop an optimum plan of care.

Perinatal Services. Perinatal services include support, education, and guidance to expectant parents and families whose unborn child has a life-limiting illness. It helps expectant parents and families prepare for and cope with physical, emotional, and spiritual needs at the time of diagnosis and throughout the pregnancy. It is the only program of its kind in Erie County. It also offers the development of a birthing plan that honors parents’ wishes, coordination with a patient’s physicians, labor/delivery staff, and 24/7 guidance and emotional support from on-call Registered Nurses. This program links to family coping resources during pregnancy and after, while honoring cultural, religious, and spiritual beliefs.

Veterans Program. Hospice Buffalo provides veterans with specialized compassionate care to meet their unique needs at end-of-life. It also commemorates their sacrifices in meaningful ways and supports their caregivers and loved ones.

Community Grief & Support Groups. Support groups exist for each individual’s unique grief and loss needs. They include adolescent grief, suicide bereavement, widows and widowers’ emotions, loss of a parent, bereaved parents, and siblings, and a special camp for kids.

Expressive Therapies. Hospice Buffalo also offers spiritual care, advanced care planning (health care decision-making), and counseling, which may also include music and massage therapy.

This year, Hospice’s bouquet sale fundraiser can hold even more meaning for individuals and families who have suffered during COVID-19. Remember someone you love by buying a bouquet to support Hospice Buffalo programs. Find bouquet flower trucks on March 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, and 12 from 10 am to 12 pm and 1 pm to 3 pm at Buffalo General Medical Center, Oishei Children’s Hospital, DENT Neurologic Institute, Cheektowaga Senior Center, Windsong Radiology, and many more locations near where you live. Find a complete list at www.hospicespringbouquetsale.com or call 716-989-2010.