Baystate Children’s Hospital to Hold Remembrance Service on April 23

SPRINGFIELD — Baystate Children’s Hospital will hold its annual Service of Remembrance on Monday, April 23 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 on 759 Chestnut St., Springfield. It is also open to families with losses prior to 2017.

“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, bereavement coordinator, Baystate Hospice and Pediatric Palliative Care, 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 of Remembrance 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 by Friday, April 13 with their child’s name and if they would like to have his or her name read aloud during the memorial service, regardless of whether they can attend the event, as well as the number of adults and children planning to attend. Families with earlier losses are asked to simply call and register. To respond, call Marianne MacCullagh at (413) 794-1450.

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. No registration is needed.