On March 1, the first inpatient hospice in
the district of Uelzen was opened. The hospice, named “Am Stadtwald,” is
operated by the Adventist Welfare Department of the Seventh-day Adventist
Church in Germany. “We are pleased to offer this service to the terminally ill
and their families in the district of Uelzen,” said Georg Remmert, hospice
general manager. The hospice will serve people for whom no cure can be expected
and who are not able to continue living in their homes. “Hospice guests can
live out their last days with dignity, surrounded by kindness and love,” said
Remmert.
The hospice focuses on the sick person and
their family. With 11 single rooms it sees itself as a refuge where family
members can also stay overnight if necessary. “It is a place of life and of
farewell and thereby allows a dignifying last phase in the life of the patients,”
said the manager. The work of the hospice is supported through a partnership
with the Hospice Service Association for the District of Uelzen, which trains volunteers
who take care of people on an outpatient as well as inpatient basis. These volunteers
spend a lot of time talking, listening, and just being silent with the patient.
Non-resolved issues are discussed sympathetically.
There are no costs for the guests of the
inpatient hospice. Health insurance generally covers 90 percent of the costs of
the hospice stay. The remaining 10 percent is borne by the hospice itself, requiring
financial and moral support from those who support the hospice concept. A “society
of friends” has been established to promote this.
Construction of the inpatient hospice in
Uelzen cost 2.2 million euros, and created 11 jobs. The hospice is located
within the Adventist Uelzen Life Center. In addition to hospice, the center
includes the 2014 newly opened assisted housing complex with 40 apartments, as
well as the 45 year-old Uelzen Advent Nursing Home. At the center of the complex
is the Adventist Church Uelzen Am Stadtwald.
The Uelzen hospice is the second Adventist
institution of its kind in Germany. In 2009, the Adventist Welfare Department
together with a partner, founded the “Friedensberg” hospice in Lauchhammer, Brandenburg.
The hospice, as well as the other facilities
of the Uelzen Life Centre is open to all people regardless of creed or
background, assured Remmert.
More information is available at www.hospiz-am-stadtwald.de and www.leben-am-stadtwald.de.
