Happy Anniversary Hospice!

Happy Anniversary Hospice! April 2011 marks the 9th year Hospice has been in existence in Chimbote! Hospice began in Chimbote as a special interest of Mr. Zespy, a member of the Board of Los Amigos del Padre Juan, a fund-raising organization for the social works of Fr. Jack’s parish, Nuestro Señora de Perpetuo Socorro. Back in December 2001, Mr. Zespy made generous 10 year pledge to fund hospice on the condition there was a need for such a service. There was no history or form of hospice service in Peru or Latin America prior to this offer.

A group of health care leaders in Chimbote convened and came to the conclusion there was a definite need. Before hospice, people of Chimbote with a terminal illness had no choice but to go home and die. They had no access to doctors or medicine to relieve suffering. The hospice was initiated as a pilot program to see if the concept of death with dignity and death without pain would indeed translate into a culture that was accustomed to accepting a life of suffering. To implement the program, Sister Juanita realized that the concept of Hospice was completely foreign to all who might apply to work there. A program of “education –while- selecting” the first Hospice staff was initiated for the 25 applicants who applied. The four week selection process included learning about Hospice, identifying the special gifts they could bring to hospice, and making 2 home visits. By the end of the process only 10 applicants remained interested. It is difficult to see those who suffer with a terminal illness and have no other option but to suffer and die.

A multi-disciplinary team of health care workers was formed and by 2003 they started their outpatient services. April 4 th marks this anniversary. As the needs of the patients in the community grew, they realized they needed an inpatient facility. Many families could not handle the demands and were fearful of caring for a family member in the final stages of dying. Sr. Juanita Albracht, CCVI, Hospice Director, was part of the original committee and to this day serves as the director of Hospice. She wrote for donations and grants to fund the building of an inpatient facility, designed the hospice building and Fr. Jack donated the land. On December 2nd, 2004 the inpatient facility was built and accepted its first patient. This date holds special significance for the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word (CCVI’s), Sr. Juanita’s order, for the first house of the order, Santa Rosa was opened on that day in l869 in San Antonio, Texas. Their mission, “to actualize the saving and healing love of the Incarnate Word, by promoting human dignity” is right in line with the values of hospice.

The original Hospice facility had one wing, oxygen equipped rooms designed to accept two patient with the preference being to house patient per room to assure family privacy in the final stages of death. Today there is a second wing without oxygen, a garden, storage unit and a larger laundry facility. The staff has grown to include an accountant, cook, house keeper, secretary and laundry person, guards, and psychologist. All were added based on need to the original staff which included a doctor, social worker, pastoral agent, nurses. nursing aids and home health aids. At present, the hospice building can handle as many as 27 patients at once and the staff can visit up to 40 to 50 patients in the community. Hospice currently serves the area of Chimbote, Nuevo Chimbote and a few other neighboring towns.

Hospice accepts all patients with a terminal illness including those with drug resistant TB and AIDS. Patients are accepted on a sliding scale for which there are five levels. The highest level pays 15 soles a day and the lowest pays nothing. The majority of the patients who seek hospice care have spent most of their resources looking for a cure and can only pay around the 3rd level which is 3 to 8 soles a day. The major expenses for hospice are: 1.the salaries of the staff, 2. transportation costs for the out-patient program and 3. supplies for patient care.

Hospice is largely funded, about 70 %, by two families. The other 30 percent is funded by hospice in-patient and in-patient services, by fundraising efforts and an equipment rental service. There is plenty of room to grow via expansion in the community and neighboring towns and adding a second unit/ retirement floor for patients with chronic health problems, Alzheimer’s or dementia.

Every year is a challenge to survive. This year one of the major donors has given notice that he may no longer be able to fund hospice. Sr. Juanita is looking for several thousands of dollars in donations and new donors to compensate for this loss. She also predicts the need for hospice will only continue to grow. 2011 marks the final year of a global fund set up in the area to help those get analysis and treatments for AIDS, TB and malaria. Hospice will most likely take on several of these terminal patients once the global fund serving the AIDS and TB population dissolves after 2011.

Anyone that would like to make a donation to hospice can transfer large funds to Banco de Credito de Chimbote 310-1583871-1-18 (Dollars account) (Swift # BCP-LEPL.) Smaller donations are best made by personal check and can be mailed to the attention of Sr. Juanita Albracht.

Urb. 21 de Abril B, 33-01
Apt. Postal 433
Chimbote, Peru