WELLS — In 2006, Christina Batchelder was pregnant with her second child. Near the end of her term, she was told the baby’s brain matter was deteriorating, and she should prepare for the possibility that the child may not come home from the hospital.
That’s when the Portland-based Jason Program stepped in to help. The program provides medical, emotional and spiritual services to children with life-threatening conditions and their families.
“I can’t imagine what the process would be like without the Jason Program,” Batchelder said Tuesday. “My goal is to have everyone get the treatment we got.”
Batchelder was able to bring her daughter, Sophia, home and care for her – due mostly to the program, she said.
“They worked with the pediatrician and medical team so closely,” Batchelder said. “There is no excuse in this country that children should not die comfortably and with dignity.”
The Jason Program, she said, ensures that happens.
The program also keeps children out of the hospital whenever possible, through the care of nursing director Greg Burns and medical director Gary Allegretta. The entire team is trained and specializes in palliative, or end of life, care.
Batchelder said she asked Sophia to stick around for Christmas, and she lived just over a year – to see Christmas and her first birthday. Jason Program staff was there when Sophia died, and took shifts staying with the family, she said.
Batchelder is telling her story today because the Jason Program is in danger. After losing a major donor, the program has cut back nearly $20,000 of their monthly budget. Because they don’t charge families for services, the program relies on donations and reimbursements from insurance companies, according to Director Kate Eastman.
“We want to make sure families have what they need,” Eastman said last week. “It’s hard for organizations to offer that. We offer continuity.”
Insurance companies and Maine Care reimburse some of the Jason Program services, but even when claims are paid, it takes many weeks for the money to get back into the program.
Eastman said the program is looking for ways to be viable, like pairing with other non-profits. Until a solution is found, though, the program needs support. If they can raise $65,000, the program could make it through 2008 without disrupting any child’s care, she said.
“We do have a plan,” Eastman said. “We need the public’s help, and we need funding to give us time to build these relationships.”
With 65 to 100 families counting on the Jason Program at any given time, funding is vital, Eastman said. She and Batchelder - and many other program participants - are trying to get the word out to save the Jason Program for future families and children in need.
— For more information about the Jason Program call 773-2947 or go to www.jasonprogram.org. Contact Robyn Burnham by calling 282-1535, Ext. 329, or via e-mail at rburnham@gwi.net.
