About Us
“HOSPICE Casa Sperantei” Foundation is a promoter of the palliative care services at a national level and one of the leaders of this type of care in Europe, being worldwide known and appreciated. It is the largest non-profit medical organization working in the field of palliative care in Romania, which provides free of charge services for patients and their families. In 2002, it was designated as a centre of excellence and model in palliative care and education in Central & Eastern Europe and Asia. “HOSPICE Casa Sperantei” Foundation promotes palliative care through educational, information and advocacy programmes at a national and international level.
EDUCATION
The two educational centers of “HOSPICE Casa Sperantei” Foundation (Brasov and Bucharest) have organized courses, conferences, exchanges of experience, clinical internships and have provided consulting services, expertise and support for the multidisciplinary palliative care teams within the country and abroad since 1997. The educational programme is conducted in Romanian, English and Russian.
RESOURCES
The educational programme of “HOSPICE Casa Sperantei” Foundation offers updated information in the palliative care field, a rich owned series of publications in the same field, a palliative care library. The resources are available in Romanian, English and Russian.
DEVELOPMENT
Since its establishment (1992), “HOSPICE Casa Sperantei” Foundation has been permanently involved and active in promoting the concept of palliative care and developing the palliative care network in Romania and surrounding countries in order to:
- Help the public authorities (ministries, government agencies, parliament) to realize the benefits of the palliative care development, in order to legally and financially support them (emphasizing the need, access to education, access to medication, setting up palliative care services, imposing quality standards for services, financing or providing financial incentives);
- Draw palliative care services providers into continuing education, cooperation, dialogue and exchange of experience;
- Raise awareness among people of the existence and benefits of the palliative care;
- Raise community awareness (population, institutions, and companies) of the fact that, for quality palliative care services, they are able to contribute directly through donations, sponsorships, volunteering and through the trained involvement of the patients’ families in the care process.
The palliative care aims to ensure a good quality of life for the incurable patient, through relieving pain and controlling the symptoms, and by casework, psychological and religious counselling. “HOSPICE Casa Sperantei” Foundation provides free of charge palliative care services for children suffering from cancer, leukemia, neuromuscular dystrophies, congenital diseases and for adults suffering from cancer in Bucharest, Brasov, Fagaras and Zarnesti (over 11,000 patients cared for so far, starting with 1992).
The multidisciplinary palliative care team consists of: physicians, nurses, hospital attendants, psychologists, social workers, priest / pastor, therapists, pharmacists, together with the administrative-financial staff and volunteers.
Palliative care services include: home care, admission to the in-patient unit, consultations in the out-patient clinic (where breast prostheses, stomatherapy , and sensorial therapy are provided as well), activities within the adult and children’s day centres.