The Hospice House of Saint Francis e.V. in Recklinghausen-Süd is a facility dedicated to providing palliative care to individuals in their final phase of life. It offers a loving and dignified environment for patients in need of palliative care, as well as their family members. The hospice aims to support patients in their homes and provide them with appropriate and comfortable care that addresses their physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs.

The Hospice House of Saint Francis e.V. adopts a holistic approach to palliative care and offers a variety of services, including pain management, symptom control, psychosocial support, spiritual care, and volunteer companionship. It collaborates closely with physicians, nurses, therapists, and other professionals to ensure comprehensive care.

Furthermore, the hospice plays an active role in the community by offering educational and informational events on palliative care and end-of-life issues. It also collaborates with other healthcare and social service organizations to enhance the quality of palliative care and meet the needs of patients.

The Hospice House of Saint Francis e.V. is a vital institution dedicated to caring for individuals in their final phase of life and providing them with a dignified and supportive environment to enhance their quality of life.

We aim to support and promote this mission through our foundation and your assistance.

Hospice Work in Recklinghausen

The establishment of the "Hospiz zum hl. Franziskus e.V." association took place on September 3, 1986.

Founding members included Sister Reginalda Kuss, Norbert Homann, and Pastor Hanns Overkämping.

The idea of advocating for better care for dying people emerged in the spring of 1986 within the leadership of Elisabeth Hospital in Recklinghausen-Süd, at a time when hospices in Germany were mostly met with rejection.

The focus of hospice work includes:

• Patient autonomy
• Pain therapy considering the latest insights in pain management
• Family integration

In the book "Die Hospizbewegung in Deutschland am Beispiel Recklinghausen," Janbernd Kirschner describes the everyday reality in the hospice and provides an analysis that examines structure and everyday life over six years.

According to Kirschner, the hospice movement is based on a concept of humanity "that seeks to understand individuals not only based on their socially defined performance and pleasure capacity but above all in the context of their personal, entirely individual life and experiences." The accompanying concept always aligns with the physical, social, and psychological wishes and needs of the affected individuals.

Due to adequate staffing and the relatively small number of beds, the hospice in Recklinghausen fosters close contact between staff, patients, and relatives, which has a positive impact on the satisfaction of all involved.

As one of several conclusions, Kirchner points out the following aspect:

"The involvement of the sick in an open communication process reduces uncertainty and fear, strengthens the patients' self-esteem, and enables adequate coping with the illness. The insights of palliative medicine often allow for extensive pain and symptom control while fully preserving consciousness. The desire for active euthanasia is almost never expressed under the conditions of an inpatient hospice facility."

(see Janbernd Kirschner: "Die Hospizbewegung in Deutschland am Beispiel Recklinghausen – Peter Lang Verlag, p.11, p. 63, 97, p. 103)