We understand that we are not creating anything new, simply returning to our roots, when death was a natural part of the circle of life intimately experienced in the embrace of loved ones.
What are we about?
We respect the development of society and we want everyone to have access to quality information in order to freely decide at the end of their life where and how they chose to die, what type of care they chose to have, and who they chose to have beside them. So, for the past three years we have supported professionals working in care for the dying. We see a future where palliative care is accessible and open to the largest possible number of patients and has become a regular part of every community in the Czech Republic and all our lives.
This is still an unfamiliar concept for part of society and we believe that this comprehensive and professional service should be accessible and open to the largest possible number of patients in the CR. That is why we have supported long term fund-raising development, resources, education and communication in a third of hospices in the CR. Our purpose is hospice teams that are able to generate continuing support from the community and thus create a longer term sense of financial security so that they can focus more on their core mission and help patients. 
In cooperation with trusted respected experts, we financed a pilot advocate project, backed by key umbrella palliative organizations, the Ministry of Health of the CR and the VZP state health insurance organization in the CR, and we believe that, as a result, in future everyone will be able to pay for home based palliative care just like any other care from their own insurance.
“The majority of patients wish to experience the end of their life at home, together with their loved ones. The aim of the mobile specialized palliative care pilot project is to test a model in which a dying patient has permanent access to a team of physicians, nurses and other specialists. Support from the Foundation enabled us to collect valuable data during the course of this project as a result of which there is now a realistic chance that quality palliative care at home will become a regular component of a system of care paid for through health insurance.
70% of people in this country die in hospitals. Without access to comprehensive palliative, social and spiritual care. Often without their loved ones beside them. We want to change this and so we invited hospitals to partner with us. Now, thanks to courageous health professionals and hospital management, 18 hospitals are creating multidisciplinary palliative teams which will provide support to other departments and colleagues and above all to dying patients and their families. So that even in the hospital environment they can be together till the end.
“Hospitals are a key player in care for the dying. It is no exaggeration to say that this Foundation program represents a historic milestone, which has led a number of Czech hospitals to accept and express for the first time that even death is part of life and that they truly wish to be with their patients till the end. The response from health-care establishments has been very positive so the program has already done a great deal by naming this issue and kick-starting the processes to resolve it.”
Future physicians, nurses, other health workers, social workers, carers and ministers study in schools. All of them in these professions will not just attend and heal the sick but they will also be at the side of dying patients. In supporting their education we see the prospect of professional palliative care becoming a natural and permanent part of their mission.
There are still parts of our country where there is no option other than caring for the dying and their family in hospital. That is why we decided to look for and support innovators, new approaches and ideas, for example in organizations where people often spend the end of their lives such as senior care homes or long term illness treatment facilities.
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LEARN MOREThe Avast Software company was established more than 25 years ago and it owes much to its homeland - the Czech Republic. This is where it continually seeks projects dear to its heart.
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Executive Director
Libuše Tomolová
tomolova@avast.com
Director of Programs
and Development
Martina Břeňová
brenova@avast.com
PR Manager
Irena Setikovská
irena.setikovska@avast.com
Program Manager
Kateřina Kotasová
kotasova@avast.com
© 2017 Avast Foundation. Czech Republic