“This is the best gift you could give me. I’m going to cherish this forever. This is something from when she was alive that I will always keep from my mom.”
— Patient's daughter
The 3 Wishes Project
Helping make meaningful memories at the end of life.
The 3 Wishes Project
Helping make meaningful memories at the end of life.
A compassionate end-of-life experience
The hospital can be a stressful place. The 3 Wishes Project is a palliative care initiative that aims to improve the end-of-life experience for patients, families, and healthcare team members by working to fulfill wishes for a dying patient and their loved ones.
The goals of the 3 Wishes Project are to dignify, honor, and celebrate patients’ lives by personalizing the end-of-life experience. For families, the goals are to humanize the dying experience and foster positive memories, and for members of the healthcare team, to foster patient- and family-centered care.
“It was so rewarding seeing the patient’s mother’s gratitude after receiving her son’s heart rhythm strip in a keepsake bottle. Even though I couldn’t change her son’s situation, at least I could offer some comfort and attention in a different, yet still very meaningful way. I think the 3 Wishes Project is really making a difference for both patients and for us.”
— ICU nurse
“A young mother selecting a quilt to wrap her children with love after her death … handprints of a dying patient overlaid on their child’s handprint … these types of acts inject humanity and love into the most difficult of circumstances. It’s a gift for our patients, but also for our team members.”
— ICU physician
“I was grateful to have the 3 Wishes Project available to spend some meaningful time with his wife, offer some comfort, and provide small keepsakes for the patient’s daughter in case she did not make it in time. It really made a huge difference; this was the best gift I’ve ever given!”
— ICU nurse
Donate to the 3 Wishes Project
The 3 Wishes Project is provided at no cost to patients and families and is supported by UW Medical Center and generous donations from families and individuals who support the mission of this work.
The 3 Wishes Project at UW Medicine
The 3 Wishes Project is currently available in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant ICU, and Surgical ICU at UW Medical Center – Montlake.
This program would not be possible without multidisciplinary collaborators, including advanced practice providers and physicians from Palliative Care and Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine; nurses; social workers; spiritual care providers; and UWMC volunteers. We are grateful to our community partners, including volunteer musicians and singers, visual artists, quilters, organizations donating supplies, and our partners at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center.
The 3 Wishes Project at UW Medicine would also not be possible without the inspiration and partnership from Dr. Deborah Cook (co-founder of the first 3 Wishes Project) and her team at McMaster University Medical Centre in Hamilton, Ontario and Dr. Thanh Neville (UCLA 3 Wishes Project Medical Director) and her team at UCLA Health in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, California.
The history of the 3 Wishes Project
The 3 Wishes Project started in an intensive care unit at St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Ontario, Canada in 2013 to help improve the end-of-life experience for patients, families, and healthcare team members. The 3 Wishes Project now has an international footprint across hospitals in North America and Europe.
Community partners
We thank these community organizations for their sustaining partnership and contributions which support the mission of our program.
Contact us
UW Medicine workforce can learn more about the 3 Wishes Project here.
If you have questions about the 3 Wishes Project, ideas, or would like to volunteer, please contact Matthew Smith: uw3WP@uw.edu.