Health & Community

More and more people find it difficult to cope with everyday life. Illness, loneliness and despair are only some of the problems that surround us. The Austrian Red Cross is trying to help people affected by such problems by extending home care services and offering a wider rage of at-home assistance.

Qualified nurses and trained auxiliary personnel provide home care services, including preparations for upcoming hospital treatments, post-hospital care, and ongoing care for the terminally ill. Community service activities provided by the Austrian Red Cross include a "Meals on Wheels" service and a "Direct Call" service for senior citizens.

Direct Call users wear a watch-like instrument that is activated in emergencies by pressing a button to automatically connect to the nearest Red Cross station. In addition, the Red Cross offers training programs for volunteers who want to and are able to help. Training courses are available for volunteers who are, or soon will be, nursing a member of the family. Training courses are also available for elderly people to teach them how to better care for themselves, and how to preserve their mental and physical mobility into old age.

HOSPICE

The Austrian health care system is not equipped to deal with people who are seriously ill or dying. This shortfall is the reason for the hospice-movement, which has its roots in England at the end of the 1960’s. Hospices are equipped for very sick people. They seek to help and relive the suffering of people with physical or mental difficulties, and to give them a new lease of life. The first Hospice to have been established by the Austrian Red Cross is the “Helga Treichl Hospice”. More...