Did you know that this month is the 142nd anniversary of the founding of the Congregation of Sisters Hospitallers? Since then, the mission and spirit of hospitality are still alive and they are very much needed to help the most disadvantaged in this inhospitable world.
Here is the testimony of Biabiani Rosella, Quality Management System Manager at Di Cura Villa Rosa House, Viterbo, Italy.
In her words: “I have been a member of the staff of the Villa Rosa nursing home of Viterbo for many years and I´m so proud to be part of the hospital family. Villa Rosa is known in the area mainly for its support for the mentally ill, as well as for its services for the elderly and terminal patients.
I don´t have a health role but the stigma and discrimination that are still experienced today by people suffering mental health problems don´t leave you indifferent. As Pope Francis said, “those who suffer make the indestructible beauty of human dignity shine forth in their wounded lives”.
How would you describe the labor of Sisters Hospitallers from your role as a Quality Manager?
The Sisters Hospitallers continue the long journey started by Saint Benedict Menni, the giant of Charity in hospitality, offering their lives to others with dedication, commitment and their testimony of care and assistance to the sick.
Today more than never, Sisters Hospitallers are called to assume new challenges, to keep pace with the times and the evolution of the healthcare sector, without ever forgetting the inspiration of the founding charism and conformity to Hospitaller values.
Identity, values, mission, governance combined with organizational capacity, innovation and a broad vision of the future, will help the Hospitaller organisation to ensure that the person cared for remains the primary focus of interest in order to be credible witnesses to hospitality, with a renewed lifestyle and mission.
What are the initiatives or specific programs implemented in Di Cura Villa Rosa house to promote holistic care and hospitality in health care?
It would take more than a few lines to describe the integrated approach to care and wellbeing of the person, attending to the whole patient, development a capacity for dialogic and, above all, listening. Caring for people who are often marginated and invisible to society, with a high level of psychological, social and economic vulnerability, with the identification of strategies/processes to respond to unheard/unmet mental health needs is our daily task, trying to share deep feelings of solidarity and hospitality. There are many projects, from Self-Care, Psychological Support for Autonomy, Positive Psychology, Autonomous Cooking, Baking Workshop, Art Therapy, Music Therapy, Orthotherapy, internal and external motor activities with Padel and Tennis projects, assisted interventions with animals…. Not forgetting cultural visits, pilgrimages and recreational outings, achieving an improvement in the quality of care and health, thanks also to the professionalism and preparation of our operators.
What are the results of quality assurance?
Working in synergic work ensures people centered healthcare with a multidisciplinary approach, thus achieving quality, efficiency, and equity.
Ideas, competencies, and resources are shared in a virtuous partnership for the humanization of care and continuous improvement.
