Hillandale Embracing A Really Tough Situation

The H.E.A.R.T.S. Club Mission:

The mission of the Hillandale Golf Course H.E.A.R.T.S. Club is to provide a no-cost, nurturing golf environment for the children that are the patients at the Duke Children’s Hospital Pediatric Transplant and Cellular Therapy (PTCT) Unit.  This program and all its offerings will be extended to the children’s immediate families and caregivers in order to ease the burden of their immediate journey by understanding the expense and emotional undertaking of fighting a life-threatening disease.

The H.E.A.R.T.S. Club Standards:

The Hillandale Golf Course professional staff is to offer memberships to the H.E.A.R.T.S. Club by supplying the Duke Children’s Hospital Pediatric Transplant and Cellular Therapy (PTCT) Family Support Program Director with a membership application to be filled out in it’s entirety by the patient’s parents/caregivers and returned to Hillandale Golf Course. 

The families will be afforded the opportunity to play golf, use the driving range, use golf equipment or take golf car rides at no cost to them at any time while their child(ren) are patients of the DCHPTCT facility.  Every effort will be made to supply to the children golf equipment that is of no cost to the family. All information received from the families is to be confidential and this is to include but is not limited to the membership application and health updates received from the family.

Hillandale has developed a unique relationship with Duke Hospital and the Pediatric Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program.

HEARTS at Hillandale 1
Inaugural-Ride-Sept-26-2012
1299
810

Children from around the world are brought to Duke Hospital by their families in order to be treated for leukemia, lymphoma, solid tumors, blood disorders, immunodeficiencies, and rare genetic diseases. The Family Support Program is in place at the hospital to help families deal with the tiresome battle of the disease and they look for opportunities that are healthy and full of family time.

The goal of this program is to foster an environment that will assist families on a healing journey for their children through the use of golf. Because the children cannot be around large groups of people due to their weakened immune systems due to treatments, golf offers them a wonderful escape and experience. This program gives the children something very positive to look forward to.

Children being treated and their family can come to the golf course to get away from the disease if only for a couple of hours. We also embrace the caregivers who need to recharge their life’s battery so they can return to the hospital and fight the good fight with their child. There is no cost and no requirement to the family regardless if they want to play golf, hit some range balls, take a golf cart ride or just sit and breathe the fresh air. All of us here just want to help these very special children and their loving families.

Golf is a wonderful opportunity for these kids since they are not able to be around large groups of people. This limits what they can do for entertainment and at Hillandale Golf Course we found this to be an opportunity since what could be better than a golf course? The family is a member of our H.E.A.R.T.S. Club for as long as they are a patient at Duke Hospital. We are proud to be a part of the families of Duke’s PTCT Program and glad that we can be a part of their healing journey.

Thank you for playing Hillandale Golf Course!