VIDAS - Assistenza ai malati inguaribili

About VIDAS - Assistenza ai malati inguaribili

Vidas is a non-profit Association founded in Milan in 1982 by Giovanna Cavazzoni and chaired by Ferruccio de Bortoli. It offers complete and free socio-health assistance to terminally ill patients at home and in the Casa Vidas hospice: inpatient and day hospice. Over 38,000 patients have been assisted in 38 years (up to 200 per day) in Milan, Monza, and in 112 municipalities in the hinterland with teams of doctors, nurses, personal hygiene assistants, social workers, psychologists, physiotherapists, all experts in Pain Therapy and Palliative Care and paid by the Association, supported by generous, rigorously selected and trained volunteers. The Casa Vidas hospice, opened in 2006, always offers free protected hospitalization for patients who live alone or in critical socio-environmental conditions. VIDAS also hosts an extensive day hospice service, aimed at patients who are still self-sufficient, with outpatient clinics, medical offices, a physiotherapy room, psychological/social counseling, and diversionary activities. In 2015 Vidas created the first multidisciplinary pediatric palliative care team specifically trained for the care of children and adolescents with incurable diseases. In 2019 Casa Sollievo Bimbi was founded, the first pediatric hospice in Lombardy and among the very few in Italy with six mini-apartments for the accommodation of young patients and their families. The facility also houses a new Scientific Research Center. Intense cultural activity (seminars, round tables, conferences, and publications) complements the assistance, to raise awareness among an ever-wider audience of VIDAS's inspiring philosophy: to restore rights and dignity to the sick person until the end.