Crown Princess Mary officially opened a youth hospice in Rønde on Djursland this week.
The Crown Princess opened Strandbakkehuset after a delay caused by the global health crisis. The building is a state of the art facility that has already won an award as Health Building of the Year.
Strandbakkehuset aims to “help to raise the quality of life for children, young people and their families in Western Denmark, who under difficult living conditions must have a daily life where life-threatening illness sets the agenda” per its website and models its work on the pillars of life, play and relief to give young people “the best opportunities to get as much out of their lives as possible – developmentally and socially.”
Crown Princess Mary was given a tour of the hospice by Anders Kühnau, the Regional Council Chairman; Dorit Simson, the hospice director; and Jørgen Keinicke, the board chairman.
“I am incredibly proud that we can now also in Western Denmark offer hospice stays for children, young people and families. Strandbakkehuset is a unique offer in a unique setting, which I would like to thank volunteers, the local community and many other supporters for helping along the way,” Kühnau said to reporters.
Crown Princess Mary also met with two young people receiving care from Stranbakkehuset. She was presented with a bouquet of flowers by Noa Lindgaard Liljegren, who then gave her a tour of one of the family homes used by the families of patients.
Before departing, the Crown Princess stopped to talk to another young patient, Adam, who lives with smard1, a condition called spinal muscular atrophy with respiratory distress. His family said to Billed Bladet afterwards: “Adam is so happy. She talked to him and held his hand. We have talked a lot about him meeting a real princess.”
“It was a great honour to show the Crown Princess our framework and everyday life,” said Dorit Simonsen, the hospice’s director. “Our vision is that all children and young people should have the best opportunities to get the most out of their lives, regardless of living conditions.”
