Baystate Children’s Hospital to Hold Remembrance Service April 3

SPRINGFIELD — Baystate Children’s Hospital will hold its annual Service of Remembrance on Monday, April 3, for all area families who have experienced the death of a child over the past year.

All family members and friends are invited to attend the event, which will be held at 5:30 p.m. at Baystate Medical Center’s Chestnut Conference Center at 759 Chestnut St., Springfield. It is also open to families with losses prior to 2016.

“We hope that the Service of Remembrance and the reception that follows will provide the opportunity for a special group of families to come together to remember and honor their children,” said Betsy Flores, child life specialist at Baystate Children’s Hospital, and a member of the event’s planning committee.

Baystate Children’s Hospital staff will be in attendance at the event to remember and pay tribute to the children and families who were under their care. The service will include readings, music, and a ceremony of light. Families are invited to share a photograph or other memento of their child on a ‘table of memories’ at the event.

All families planning on attending are asked to respond with their child’s name and if they would like to have his or her name read aloud during the service, regardless of whether or not they can attend. Families with earlier losses are simply asked to call and register. To respond, call Betsy Flores at (413) 794-3145.

As part of the service, families will be given a piece of fabric which they can personalize in memory of their child before it is added, along with others, to create a memory quilt. Some of the quilts created in previous years will also be on display at the event, replacing the annual fall Memorial Quilt Exhibit held at Baystate Medical Center. All families are encouraged to attend this separate event, also located in the Chestnut Building.