First children’s hospice opens in Georgia

For the first time in the history of Georgia a centre for terminally ill children and minors with chronic diseases has been opened, where patients will receive free care.

Georgia’s First Lady Maka Chichua opened the hospice today in Digomi, a village on the outskirts of Tbilisi.

"This is an unprecedented event for Georgia; now we have our first children’s hospice and the state, business sector and individual donors have united to make this a reality”, Chichua said.

The construction of the hospice began back in 2015 on the initiative of the Open Society Georgia Foundation and initial funding from EVEX Medical Corporation. The initiative was then joined by Georgia’s Presidential couple and the President’s Reserve Fund donated 210,000 GEL to the project.

Chichua said the centre is equipped in accordance with the best international standards and "just the way I’ve seen abroad during my foreign visits”.

The new children’s hospice is a group home that can accommodate 10 children at a time.

It offers three types of service:

• 24-hour service for sick children and their parents
• A day-centre where children and parents can stay until evening
• Home-care service, where specialists from the hospice will visit sick children at home and provide them with relevant care.