Project Joy and Hope A well-known British physician-author, W. Somerset Maugham, reportedly remarked as he approached his own death in the 1950's, "Dying is a very dull, dreary affair. And my advice to you is to have nothing whatever to do with it" [Brandreth, 1979]. Seemingly, America has taken his advice. Community Awareness Hospice care did not begin to develop in the United States until the 1970's. In only the last few years has pediatric hospice care emerged, and remains in its infancy stage of development in this country. The majority of Americans do not understand the value of hospice care, and many view hospice as a defeated lifestyle. Most all nonprofit hospice organizations will accept children as patients; however, only a handful provide pediatric specific programs. Thus, parents who face the challenge of nurturing a child with life-limiting illness must utilize programs that are adult-, and often geriatric-focused.