CONTIGO Nº 5. January 2014 RELEVANT OPINION Javier Arellano, Managing Director of the San Luis Hospital Complex in Palencia, Spain. “For us, personal attention, sensitivity and respect for each individual’s rights are fundamental” Santa Teresa Cohabitation Unit for their belongings and memories. The the Elderly. prime objective is to minimise the We focus our efforts on offering each impact of a change of home, friends, individual comprehensive assistance, etc. Preservation of independence always adapted according to their and privacy at the same time as we needs. With this aim, last October we help them to continue to take their inaugurated our innovative Santa Te- own decisions and control their own resa Cohabitation Unit for the Elderly day-to-day lives are key aspects of with an attention concept based on the model. allowing the elderly to continue to live in an environment similar to that Benedict Menni and María Josefa Javier Arellano which they had in their own home, Recio II and III Residences even when they show a significant On these same lines, in San Luis we The San Luis Hospital Complex in Pa- level of dependence. are also immersed in a new project lencia, Spain, founded in 1889 by St. for the intellectually disabled, with Benedict Menni, has become a lea- “We focus our the building of 9 Cohabitation Units, ding point of reference in the 7 of them known as the Benedict country thanks to the work, effort efforts on offering Menni Residences, and the other two and determination of all those who known as María Josefa Recio Resi- in one way or another have been in- each individual dences II and III. The purpose of volved in its activity over the course these residences is to preserve the of its history. This activity is currently comprehensive integrity and intimacy of residents split into three areas: mental health, together with appropriate equip- attention to those who are depen- assistance” ment that combines quality and the dent, and those with intellectual di- warmth of a home. sabilities. There are around 600 beds This 13-place unit encourages the run by 7 sisters and a staff of over continuity of each person’s own lifes- These mini-residences will have a 350. tyle, so they can be surrounded by minimum of 7 and a maximum of 10 1 CONTIGO residents, in the style of a very large family. These re- sidents will pursue their lives according to their wishes and abilities, while always being able to count on the availability of support. The intention is to equip them “We can always give with autonomy, to qualify them; they will carry out all kinds of activities, and wherever possible they will par- and receive more ticipate in the pre-employment workshops of the Oc- cupational Centre, which will enable them to opt for than we think” an employment position at the Special Employment Centre set up for that purpose. “Centre professionals have participated in the design of this Centre, forming multi-disciplinary groups with representatives of all Felipa Merino García areas participating in the welfare and support process” Last November, Felipa Merino García, aged 88, with a whole lifetime of volunteering at the San Luis Centre behind her, received an Honourable Centre professionals have participated in the design Mention in the 2013 State Social Volunteering of this Centre, forming multi-disciplinary groups with Awards. representatives of all areas participating in the welfare and support process. Over the last two years, staff These awards, granted by Spain’s Ministry of He- have received specific training in this new model that alth, Social Services and Equality, reflect recog- implies a change in the attention concept. nition of excellence in work carried out in this field. For us, personal attention, sensitivity and respect for each individual’s rights are fundamental; these are the For me, volunteering has been a vocation. It values that represent us and that we promote in all captivated me from the outset; I have always that we do. tried to make those at my side happy, Feli ex- plains. For many years, together with other volunteers and several patients at the Centre, I have been holding a theatre workshop. At present I work on the organising of storytelling gatherings; I enjoy listening to participants explaining what they have found in each story and its characters. I make no distinctions, I accept all those who Santa Teresa Cohabitation Unit wish to take part with me in the activity, and I listen to what they would like us to do in the Workshop. The thing is to see them excited and happy, that is my greatest wish and my only aim, she adds. We must never stop, as long as we have the strength: GO AHEAD!. We can always give and receive more than we think. Benedict Menni Residence 2 CONTIGO INSTITUCIONAL St. Benedict Menni Centenary: The Word and Hospitallers We have just begun the year 2014, which has a very Word enter into us, bringing the fruit of eternal special meaning for the Sisters Hospitallers, as it was life. on the morning of 24 April 1914, in Dinan, France that our Founder and Restorer of the Hospitaller The beatitude proclaimed by Jesus and made in- Order in Spain, Portugal and Mexico, St. Benedict carnate in the life of Mary and St. Benedict Menni Menni, passed away. demands two fundamental attitudes: the hearing and the practicing of the Word. To celebrate this centenary, Brothers and Sisters, we have prepared this initiative: The Word and Hospita- Hearing the Word requires us to create spaces to llers. welcome it, to allow oneself to be found by the Word which will always come Blessed are those who hear the to meet us, to allow ourselves Word of God and obey it (Luke “The beatitude to be touched by the Word, re- 11:28). In the Gospel according maining at the feet of the Mas- to Luke, Jesus proclaims that proclaimed by Jesus ter to savour his words and those who hear the word of welcome them into our hearts. God and put it into practice and made incarnate shall be blessed. Directed at in the life of Mary Obeying the Word, that beati- those who listened to him, tude that Benedict Menni these words in particular exalt and St. Benedict knew how to live to the full, is the person of Mary His Mother, Menni demands two a challenge to all of us who the woman whose existence is form part of the Hospitaller totally moulded by the Word. fundamental Community to model our exis- tence on the basis of the Word, This beatitude defines the life of attitudes: the hearing and at the end of each day, to St. Benedict Menni; he is some- and the practicing of discover the seeds of the in- one who knew how to listen to carnation of that Word in the the Word and breathe life into the Word” paths of life and the hospitaller it as he travelled his hospitaller mission. path. Let this path with the Word, in the Word, and from At the start of this centenary of the passing into life the Word help us to live this Centenary Year with eternal of our Founder, we have begun this initiative intensity, hearing and obeying the Word and as- for walking daily with the Word, giving it a hospita- suming the duty of becoming instruments of ller reassessment to help us follow the path with it, mercy, compassion and hospitality such as today’s learning to listen to the Word and to translate it into world requires, because as St. Benedict Menni life-giving gestures. himself tells us, the Word teaches us that He who has come into the World to save sinners has not As a result, we will be able to make the experience disdained to make use even of sinners to work the one of true joy, a true beatitude, one that is born out wonders of his infinite Mercy. of awareness that only the Lord has the words of eternal life (cf John 6:68) The fruit of the Spirit is love Anabela Carneiro HSC (cf Galatians 5:22); only through the Spirit shall we General Mother Superior be able to enter into the Word and make the divine 3 CONTIGO “The HCM association has as its aim to provide mutual support to its members, taking advantage of our knowledge and experience” Jose Miguel Sanabria, mana- ciation is to provide mutual sup- ging director of the Beata María port and take advantage of our Ana Hospital in Madrid, Spain, knowledge and experience to shares with all the hospitaller fa- give an impulse to our position, mily the main characteristics of generating value in the health- a pioneering initiative, the Aso- care market and complying with ciación HCM (Association of our social and humanitarian Madrid Catholic Hospitals). commitment. What is it, and who are the as- What are the guidelines for sociation members? action that have been establis- It consists of an alliance among hed? Jose Miguel Sanabria the 7 Catholic institutions run- Fundamentally, representation Jose Miguel Sanabria ning general hospitals in Ma- of the HCM group at forums of drid, created with the aim of interest, the achieving of syner- the drafting of a communication providing real value to the gies by means of joint projects, programme that will help us to weight and representation of unified negotiation with clients make the HCM group known. At Catholic-run healthcare in our and suppliers, and the sharing of the same time, we have begun Autonomous Community.