By the end of 2016 it is planned to establish Children’s Hospice in Georgia. It will be the first home for kids who suffer from chronic and incurable diseases and are in need of palliative care. Service will be free for children and their families. Children’s Hospice will work in three main areas: Day and night care for 10 children; Day care center, and home-care services.
On May 29, Open Society Georgia Foundation, NELP „Children’s Hospice” and „Evex Medical Corporation“ signed a memorandum of cooperation. In July 2015, construction of the building will start in Dighomi, one of the most ecological areas of Tbilisi.
The first major contribution to this charity project was made by the President of Georgia and „Evex Medical Corporation“.
The idea of establishing Children’s Hospice has emerged after the survey conducted in 2013, which assessed palliative care needs of children. As survey results prompted, annual statistics for children with palliative care need is 839 children from 0 to 18 years old.
“In 2013, survey results showed that quiet many children are in need of palliative care in Georgia. A non-profit organization “Children’s Hospice” has been established with our support. Doctors and nurses have been trained and instructed in leading foreign hospices. We started searching for donors for the construction of the hospice. We are pleased that „Evex Medical Corporation“, the President of Georgia and individual donors supported us to make this possible. At present, team of the “Children’s Hospice” provides services to children at home. The service is free. However we hope that one day the state will assume at least part of the funding of children’s palliative care, like all other European countries do” – said Keti Khutsishvili, Executive Director of the Open Society Georgia Foundation.
In April, team of the “Children’s Hospice” visited the best children’s hospices in Netherlands. Georgian Hospice will meet the international standards.
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Hospice and Palliative Care Palliative care for children is a care provided to children with incurable and chronic diseases. Palliative care involves the relief of symptoms caused by the disease, as well as provision of psychological and emotional support to children and their families. The need for palliative care arises when dealing with a disease that is resistant to treatment. In children, such diseases may be the last stages of cancer, diabetes, various neurological diseases, severe forms of cerebral palsy and other.
Unlike adults, children with need of palliative care require a bit different approach. First of all, children’s palliative care is oriented towards the family. It is better to start palliative care as early as possible, since it is more effective for a child, as well as for his/her family members. It relieves pain and emotional overload, which makes it difficult for the child and his family to deal with and fight against severe diseases.
The basic concept of Children’s Hospice is to create friendly and comfortable environment for children, where in addition to caring personnel great importance is attached to the environment, interior, name of the hospice and all those details that ensure a harmonious adjustment of a child to a new facility. “Dream House”, “World Map”, “Hunting of Stars”, “Beyond the Rainbow”, “House of Hope” – these are the names of hospices in different countries.
The main goal of the hospice is to create a family-type environment. Therefore, in many European countries, hospices are arranged in small, maximum three-story buildings. There are many successful examples of children’s hospices in the world. In this regard, countries with great experiences are the Netherlands, Germany, England, America and Romania. There are hospices, which resemble the house of one of the literary character or an imaginary universe.
In Georgia, palliative care has been developed and promoted by the Open Society Georgia Foundation since 1999. Two hospices for adults have been already established in Georgia with the support of OSGF – one at the Cancer Prevention Center and the other at the Transfiguration Monastery.
See the article on DFwatch.net about Children’s Hospice in Georgia.
