Price Gives to Hospice

Price Club founder Sol Price has given the San Diego Hospice a gift of $1 million to establish a trust fund for families with terminally ill children that cannot afford hospice care, it was announced Tuesday.

The new fund is called the Doris A. Howell Children’s Trust Fund, named for a UC San Diego pediatrician and founding board member of the hospice who treated Price’s 15-year-old grandson Aaron, who died of a brain tumor in December.

The San Diego Hospice provides in-home care for about 1,000 patients a year, said Laura Blaney, a hospice spokeswoman. Last year, about 24 of its patients were children, she said.

Hospice care includes doctor’s care as well as care from social workers, home health aides and volunteers who provide emotional support for the families of terminally ill patients.

Blaney said about half the children’s families are often unable to pay for the care.

The cost of the care varies because some patients are with the hospice for only a few days before they die, while others are cared for longer.

The gift marks the start of a two-part fund-raising drive titled “Campaign for Hospice Operations and Pediatric Endowment,” Blaney said.

The hospice hopes to raise an additional $2 million toward operating expenses of the San Diego Hospice Center when it opens later this year. Once open, the $18-million facility will provide care for 24 patients.