May 8, 2023
News
It is hard not to notice the beautiful chateau with a park near the main road when arriving in Taul, a small town in northern Moldova. It is the largest park in the country. Just outside the entrance is a light green building that is occupied by the St. Juliana Home Care Centre. Here, Caritas Czech Republic in Moldova is helping lonely seniors.
Moldovan seniors suffer from loneliness
It is a weekday morning and a group of seniors is standing in front of the entrance. Nurse Viorica meets us at the door. "Most of our clients are very lonely people," she explains to us at the beginning. Moldova struggles with the migration of young people. Every family has someone who left the country. They migrate for job opportunities and better living conditions and do not return to Moldova. This leaves mainly elderly people in the country. Local seniors face poverty, and inadequate health and social care, and most importantly loneliness.
Viorica takes us to one of the rooms where she examines patients. "The care we provide here is free. Our clients are people with chronic illnesses, disabilities, and limited mobility. They become our patients based on a doctor's referral. Some clients are physically well and come here to our centre on their own. Those with walking difficulty receive our care in their own homes,” describes Viorica the operation of the St. Juliana centre, which is one of 11 home care centres opened by Caritas Czech Republic in Moldova.
Healthcare to remote regions
In the room, 80-year-old Liuba is already waiting for the nurse. She comes to the centre because of her blood pressure issues and for laser therapy. The home care centres also offer patients other treatments such as injections, massages, drug distribution and glucose tests. Healthcare staff also have tablets that allow clients to connect with doctors and consult about their health conditions with them. Specialists such as endocrinologists or psychiatrists are often based in large hospitals that are too far away for local seniors. Telemedicine saves them a physically demanding and expensive journey to hospitals.
But it is not just health complications that bother Liuba. "I am the loneliest person in the world," she says. Her husband died years ago and she has no children. "I can't tell you how happy I am to have this centre so close," Liuba praises.
Communication is the key
In the hallway we meet a trio of caregivers; Larisa, Korina and Lucia. While Viorica and the other nurses are in charge of medical tasks, the caregivers here are responsible for social services. "We provide help to people both at the centre and in their homes," Korina explains to us. One nurse visits about three clients a day, mainly people with limited mobility. "We help them with household cleaning, shopping, cooking and other necessities. The most important thing for them is the opportunity to talk to someone. Most of our patients are very lonely people and they are always happy when we come to visit," Larisa says.
The centre's clients also have access to a laundry room. "A lot of them do not have running water and sanitation at home. Even those who have a washing machine and shower at home often use our services because they do not have enough money left from their pensions to cover the water bill. We have washing machines and dryers here. Those who can, bring their own laundry here. For patients who have difficulty walking, we pick up the clothes at their homes and when it is done, we take them back home again," Larisa explains. The caregivers also offer other services to clients, such as haircuts, pedicures and shaving.
"For lonely seniors, we are often the only visitors. During the pandemic, we were the only ones who came to see them. We usually stop by our patients when we are passing by and talk to them for a while. Human contact is probably the most important thing for them,” the caregivers conclude.
How Caritas Czech Republic helps lonely seniors in Moldova
The St. Juliana Centre is one of 11 home care centres we opened in the country. We provide training to the staff here, as well as the necessary equipment, including telemedicine technology. Thanks to telemedicine, the centres can provide more than 4,000 remote consultations to help people like Liuba.
Caritas Czech Republic in Moldova is also advocating for institutional changes in the sector. As many healthcare workers leave Moldova, the local health and social care system cannot meet the increasing demand for home care services. Thanks to our efforts, the home care profession has been established in the country to relieve the overburdened system and help more seniors feel less alone.
We provide home care centres and telemedicine services to Moldovan seniors thanks to financial support from the Czech Development Agency.
