About
We care for the East London Community by providing Home Based Palliative Care and support for adults and children diagnosed with life threatening or life limiting illnesses
We care for the East London Community by providing Home Based Palliative Care and support for adults and children diagnosed with life threatening or life limiting illnesses
We care for the East London Community by providing Home Based Palliative Care and support for adults and children diagnosed with life threatening or life limiting illnesses
Dr Betty Bennett established St Bernard’s Hospice in response to the East London’s community identifying and emphasizing the need for specialised care and support for patients diagnosed with a ife threatening illness.
Introduced Integrated Community Home Care (ICHC) program to establish a cost-effective and professional model of care.
Trained 103 patient care workers. Sixty-four (64) of these Xhosa speaking woman and men received training on behalf of other institutions rendering a similar service in different areas in the Buffalo City and Amatole District Municipalities.
St Bernard’s Hospice was registered as a Non-Profit Organization
St Bernard’s Hospice was registered as a Public Benefit Organization
The Elton John Aids Foundation selected St Bernard’s Hospice to pilot a Professional Supervision (mentorship) program for other community-based organizations caring for HIV/AIDS patients, which was successfully completed and adopted by St Bernard’s Hospice
In collaboration with Oxfam Australia, we implemented and maintained a HIV/AIDS awareness/prevention and gender issue youth program at schools, reaching 2000 youths in two local schools for the duration of the funding contract
Introduced and established a mentorship program for community based organizations after the successful pilot professional supervision program
Implemented a Home Based Paediatric Palliative Care & Support program for HIV infected children, Orphans, and Vulnerable Children. (OVC’s)
Received 1st COHSASA (The Council for Health Services Accreditation of Southern Africa) accreditation, valid for two years.
Received 1st 5 * rating from (Hospice Palliative Care Association. (HPCA)
Received 2nd COHSASA accreditation (Valid for three years). Received 2nd 5 * rating from HPCA
Implemented a Health strengthening through strategic partnerships project
The In-Patient Unit was closed and the Home Based Palliative Care and Support Programme was launched, allowing us to reach more patients with Palliative Care.
Received 2nd 5 * rating from (Hospice Palliative Care Association. (HPCA)
St Bernard’s Hospice turned 25 years old! This milestone celebration launched our annual “St Bernard’s Hospice Gives Back” Business Cocktail Evening.
Border Hospice Association, trading as St Bernard’s Hospice (STBH) is a:
Registered Medical Practice Site: Practice Number 7900236
Section 21 Company: Registration Number 91/02129/08
Non-profit Company: Registration Number 004-127 NPO
Section 18A Public Benefit Organisation: Registration Number 1811133162. (Section 18A receipts entitles individual and corporate taxpayers to deduct annually donations not exceeding 5% (and in some cases 10%) of their taxable income.
Dr Ben Navid, who had helped so many cancer patients, sadly suffered the same fate and died after many happy and fruitful years in East London. His death birthed a dream in his wife, Dr Betty Bennett.
In 1991, Dr Betty Bennett set about realizing her dream of establishing a Hospice in East London. Betty started by inviting a few people to tea at Sally Fletcher’s house. After all these years, it is hard to remember who the original group was besides Sally Fletcher, Biddy Brathwaite, Patricia Stent, Louise Oats, Iris Hartley, and Joan Barrow.
The name “ST BERNARD’S” was chosen because the very first Hospices in the world were founded by Bernard of Menthon near Annecy in France (923 -1008) to help travelers lost in the Alps. The monks of the St Bernard Hospices bred the dogs, now known as St Bernard’s, because of their size and intelligence and trainability to rescue the people in distress. This embodied what hospices do, help people on their last journey through life and give them as much comfort and support as possible.
Very excitedly a house was acquired and meetings were moved there, held sitting on the floor as there was still no furniture. This house was 44 St Mark’s Road, our current address.
The ladies gradually built up their volunteer group and had a wonderfully dedicated and hardworking group of women who set their hand to any and every job required. They started in a small way with a day care group once a week when terminally ill patients came in for a morning to give their carers an opportunity to have some time off. Tea, fellowship and comfort was provided to anyone who needed it, a prayer meeting was held and lunch was provided for the patients and carers.
Dr Betty Bennett and Isobel Lindsay were the founding members of St Bernard’s Hospice.
All volunteers followed a training course over several days with lectures and talks of all the aspects of caring for patients. Some of the courses were given by Prof Nurses Maree Sobotta, Ruth Fismer, Anne Webster, Barbara Jardine, Tessa Bartels, Jen Penrose Marks and others. The coordinator was Professional Nurse Genevieve.
The volunteers thought of every possible way to raise funds and put their ideas into practice. Monthly meetings with the first chairlady Jenny Schnell (nee Cross) were held and whose husband, Paul Schnell, was the first volunteer doctor.
Sister Genevieve was our first nurse and a volunteer at St Bernard’s Hospice and the In-Patient unit was active.
In 2012, due to massive changes in the donor landscape, the In-Patient unit had to be closed due to lack of funding. Although a massive shock to the St Bernard’s Hospice team and loss for the East London community, the organisation was able to redirect its care, maintaining the same quality, into the homes of our patients.
Now, 26 years later, we still pride ourselves in providing quality Home Based Palliative Care and support to all in need.
St Bernard’s Hospice comes to you. Illness does not discriminate and neither do we. Our services are not restricted by race or social class, religion or gender . . .
St Bernard’s Hospice comes to you. Our services are not restricted by race or social class, religion or gender . . .
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