In Slovakia, the AIC volunteers of Prievidza have set up the St Louise Mobile Hospice to ensure people who are terminally ill receive all the care they need in the last moments of their lives. Hospice care includes medical, psychological, social, and spiritual care for a terminally ill patient and their loved ones. Hospice care mainly provides palliative care when a disease reaches the stage where treatment of the underlying condition is no longer possible.
The idea of a hospice is based on respect for life and respect for one another. The sick person is a unique being, and in the dying phase, the hospice guarantees that they will not suffer unbearable pain, that his or her human dignity will be respected in every situation, and that they will not be left alone in the last moments of their life. Care spreads respect for life and people as unique human beings. It is a service to the person who needs it. It is always necessary for care to be comprehensive, so that all the needs of the patient in the terminal stage of their illness are met.
In the case of mobile hospices, this care is provided in the home environment. The aim is for the patient to be in a familiar environment, at home with their relatives, so that they can leave in peace instead of having to spend these days at a hospital. The St Louise Mobile Hospice helps them to live their last moments with dignity at home, where volunteers provide them with medical care thanks to doctors, nurses and social workers. Moreover, the service of the mobile hospice is a service to the family in a difficult life situation. Care workers become a pillar of support for the family at that time.
The St Louise Mobile Hospice in Prievidza is staffed by AIC volunteers and Vincentian nurses. Its services are led by a team including a doctor and a nurse who treat the symptoms of the patient. Volunteers lend medical equipment such as electrically adjustable beds, oxygen concentrators, suction machines, and walkers. In addition to medical care, the patient often needs to feel at peace with God and with themselves, they need to reconcile with their relatives, with the people around them. They may also need spiritual support. In this case, volunteers work together with a priest and a religious sister.
A social worker accompanies the family and prepares for their loved one’s departure from this world. They then cope with this period in greater peace and dignity. The whole family is at the disposal of their relative who is dying. The fact that the patient is able to stay in their home environment is a gift to the family that can fully accompany their relative.
Volunteers have consecrated all their work under the protection of St Louise de Marillac.
Submitted by: Josephine Edun
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