Unveiling Living Room International’s Model for Children’s Palliative Care
We’ve shared our exciting partnership between Global Treehouse and Living Room International (LRI), a leading, mission-driven care provider dedicated to holistic palliative care in Western Kenya. Our shared goal was clear: to strengthen a co-defined paediatric palliative clinical model of care and ensure expanded access to high-quality care for children with serious illnesses.
We are pleased to share the culmination of this collaborative effort: "Co-Defining Compassionate Care: A Model of Children's Palliative Care at Living Room International". This work serves not only as a reflective summary of LRI's strong foundation but also as a practical roadmap for its next phase of growth and advocacy.
A Foundation Built on Decades of Dignity
Living Room International brings nearly 20 years of experience in palliative care, officially launching operations at Kimbilio Hospice in 2009. Their children’s palliative care program has evolved significantly, expanding with the launch of the program at Living Room Hospital (a 144-bed Level 4 community hospital) in 2022. To date, LRI has served over 1,670 children. A vital component of this support is the Micah Guesthouse, which has supported over 1,100 children and caregivers receiving oncology care in Eldoret, Kenya, since 2023.
Global Treehouse and LRI were both interested in defining the current holistic, family-centred care model - both to identify opportunities for maintaining and improving services locally and as an important opportunity to share with similar contexts in the region.
Defining Compassionate Care
Global Treehouse partnered with Living Room International to co-define a model through a structured, user-centred process, including regional stakeholder discussions, staff workshops and interviews with caregivers.
This model builds on the many existing high-quality elements of children’s palliative care exceptionally well. Staff, caregivers and partners consistently highlighted:
Deep compassion and responsiveness from the multidisciplinary teams
Strong integration with paediatric oncology care
Peaceful and welcoming environments, particularly at Micah Guesthouse, where families feel dignified and receive personalised care
Holistic and developmentally appropriate care approaches, including play-based care and an integrated Resource Centre at Kimbilio Hospice
The proposed model is officially defined by focusing on six areas, including care that is (1) holistic, (2) family-centred, (3) integrated and flexible, (4) grounded in dignity, (5) education and collaboration and (6) community-connected, emphasising active, total care from diagnosis through bereavement.
The deep listening sessions also revealed challenges that the new model must address. These included:
Late referrals into palliative care and inconsistent early identification of children with serious illness.
Shortage of paediatric-trained palliative care staff and dedicated paediatric teams.
Gaps in access to mental health and bereavement support, particularly for families.
Profound emotional and financial strain on caregivers.
Model of Care
The five focus areas of the model of care are:
Holistic: Addressing physical, emotional, spiritual and social domains
Family-centred: Involving caregivers, siblings and extended family in all phases of care
Integrated and flexible: Allowing for inpatient, outpatient and community-based care
Grounded in dignity: Focused environments that are peaceful, personalised and offer respect
Education and collaborative: Involving important partners and stakeholders in the region to ensure teamwork in caring for children and their families
Community-connected: Robust outreach with local leaders, clinical integration and culturally sensitive practices ensuring strong referrals and care relationships
The model is delivered through:
Inpatient and outpatient clinical care
A multidisciplinary team providing symptom management, care planning, spiritual and emotional support, play therapy and education
Community outreach through Tumaini na Afya
Bereavement and grief counseling
Referrals and transition support across facility and home settings
Moving Forward
Looking ahead, Global Treehouse and LRI are committed to building on this strong foundation. Our collaborative report, "Co-Defining Compassionate Care: A Model of Children's Palliative Care at Living Room International," will serve as a vital roadmap for continued growth, advocacy and the expansion of high-quality, compassionate care for children with serious illnesses across Western Kenya and beyond. We are excited to share this model with similar contexts, fostering a future where hope and dignity are accessible to every child and family.
Partner with Us
Are you interested in deepening your model of care in your context? Global Treehouse would love to partner - send us a note at info@globaltreehouse.foundation.
To learn more about Living Room International’s work, head to www.livingroominternational.org.
“Hope is a magic box. It never ends. We just need to keep it open for every child and family.”