The Center is a project of the Caritas Federation Diocese of Timisoara – 18.02.2004
The Caritas Federation of the Timisoara Diocese, an organisation initiated and inspired by the Romano-catholic Bishopric of Timisoara, Romania, began its activity in 1993 paying a special attention to the social problems specific for the area of Banat that is the four districts, namely Timis, Arad, Caras-Severin, Mehedinti. During all this time great emphasis has been laid on the identification of the concrete social needs of the community, on the collaboration with the governamental and non-governamental institutions, on the continuous training of the staff and the involvement of the specialists. Nowadays the Caritas Federation of the Timisoara Diocese has 164 employees.
Its main objectives are:
the promotion of concepts and orientations in the social policy
the reintegration of the poor and the out-cast persons
the community development
the cooperation with local and national authorities and with other national and international organisations
the providing of a qualified and motivated staff.
In 1994 the Caritas Federation of the Timisoara Diocese initiated a mostly medical project, of care at home. So far, over 800 pacients have been registered and they received medical care at home by a professional team formed of a physicians, nurses, aides and voluntary nurses belonging to the Franciscan order. The patients having different types of chronic pathologies are the major problem we are confronted with because they present during the final stages uncontrolled symptoms with ethiological treatment and they need permanent care in a hospice-type centre.
It would be preferable for the patient to be cared at home, but, unfortunately, in the great majority of the cases, the family proves to be unable to do it because of financial or physical reasons or ill-will or worse even the patient has no legal sustainer. In all these cases, our visits have proved to be unsufficient and that’s why we suggest as an alternative the foundation of a permanent centre of palliative care-hospice type where the patients needing this type of care should be hospitalized. This centre will be situated within the precincts of the Franciscan Monastery from Timisoara that sustains this project by offering the residence and the voluntary work of the Franciscan sisters. For the beginning, its capacity is of 8-10 persons this is equivalent to 60/year.
The centre includes 6 rooms, a sitting room, bathrooms, a kitchen, a recreation and dining-room, a consultation and treatment room, a chapel, a sakristy, store rooms for medicine and hygienic-sanitary materials, a laundry, a dressing room, a garage. The room for the patients’ families where they can live temporarily as well as the yard and the garden (1416 m2) where the patients and their families can walk and relax are of great importance.
Summary:
Active and total care is provided for the patients who don’t respond any longer to the curative treatment. The checking of the pain and of the symptoms, the psychological, social, spiritual assistance are essential both for the patient and his/her family.
The responsibility is assumed to transform the last part of the patient’s life in a period of dignity and confort.
The palliative care is an unsolved problem of the medical care system in Romania. The patients in the final stages are rendered to their families and consequently the care and the quality of those patients’ life are unsatisfactory.
That’s why the hospice we’ve suggested becomes an imperious necessity and completes the public health system by continuing the care in the final stages. There is no such specialized service in the Timisoara Diocese.
The beneficiaries are adult persons, from Timisoara and conterminous areas, who have different types of clinical pathologies that during the final stages present uncontrolled symptoms with ethiological treatment and need palliative care.
Caritas Federation Diocese of Timisoara
No 2 Corbului Street
RO-300239 Timisoara
Romania
Phone: 0040-256-499554
Fax: 0040-256-494812
E-Mail: fcdt@online.ro
Partners in the Project:
Congregation of the Daughters of St. Francis of Assisi
Cozia str. 55
RO-300580 Timisoara
Romania
Phone: 0040-256-487743
Fax: 0040-256-492059
E-Mail: franciscanetm@idilis.ro