Hospice in Honduras
Catherine O’Leary, Manager of St Joseph’s Hospice (Jospice) in Honduras, Central America recently spoke to Crosby’s Soroptimists. Introduced by Pat Murphy (Fundraising Manager, Jospice, Thornton) Cath then explained that she was the UK for a short holiday to visit family and friends, but was delighted to have the opportunity to talk to club members about her life and work.
Based in San Pedro Sula, Cath and her staff look after terminally ill patients, including many suffering from HIV-AIDS. The hospice works in partnership with the St Vincent de Paul Society and, at any one, time, will be caring for up to 22 in-patients. Patients must be diagnosed as needing 24-hour care in order to be eligible for referral. These referrals come through the state system; the patients tend to be, therefore, the poorest members of the community. Women patients outnumber men by 2:1. Cath indicated this is a reflection, perhaps, of a male-dominated society in which ignorance and fear fuel the spread of HIV-AIDS.
Jospice employs professional staff to meet patients’ physical and emotional care needs. In the early days anti-retroviral drugs were not available at the hospice; now, however, the World Health Organisation supervises a state-sponsored stock. (As the Honduran hospice relies totally on donations to support its work, it cannot source the drugs itself because it cannot guarantee an uninterrupted supply.)
In San Pedro Sula the hospice also provides out-patient care. This includes a stay-at-home service and patient-to-patient support.
Approximately 75% of the funding for the Honduras hospice originates in the UK, and is channelled through the parent hospice in Thornton, near Liverpool. There are also some on-site donations, plus a wide range of in-kind support. Most food, for example, is donated locally; medicines, supplies and services are also given. Transparency in accounting for this local support is vital, if the hospice is to retain its reputation for integrity.
Cath spoke of the practicalities of working in Honduras. For example, copper-cased phone lines are essential, but prove an attraction for thieves; hence the hospice can, therefore, be left without phone contact for three or four weeks at a time. Water can be cut off for hours. A water heater (donated) now ensures an efficient supply for the patients’ laundry and showers; for staff, however, clean water is not always on tap.
In conclusion, Cath thanked Crosby’s Soroptimists for their longstanding support for Jospice - both by direct fundraising and by volunteering their help at hospice events. Without this commitment, and that of thousands of other local people, Jospice’s work with terminally ill patients and their families would cease.