“Well, I couldn’t.” The volunteers of the Christophorus Hospice Association Ebersberg frequently. The hospice caregivers have Maria Sommer to thank for the fact that they can “do it”, i.e. endure an incredibly challenging phase together with the seriously ill and dying and their relatives. The current chairman founded the association in February 1997 together with a group of like-minded people.
The foundation for this had been laid the year before by an ecumenical week with events on “death – dying – mourning”. A group of citizens then found that there was no such offer in the Ebersberg district. So they decided to remedy the situation – as was happening at the same time in the surrounding area, in Munich, Erding, Kirchheim and Rosenheim, for example.
Maria Sommer in the new domicile: Even if everything is far from finished: Visitors are already very welcome at Ignaz-Perner-Straße 9 in Ebersberg.
(Photo: Christian Endt)
“It was already dark,” Sommer remembers, “when 80 to 90 people came to the inaugural meeting in the Grafingen rectory.” Most of them knew each other – there were pastors, doctors, nursing staff, people from neighborhood help and visiting services, in short, all people who felt close to the topic. The chief physician in gynaecology, Oskar Bergauer, became the chairman, supported by Klara Krinner, nursing manager of the clinic, and two women from the hospital visiting service. Social worker Sommer from Markt Schwaben, who completed the founding board, was still employed by Caritas at the time.
Nobody who needs help should be left out in the rain
Today, the lively 74-year-old says with her characteristic smile: “I’m the last one standing.” Back then, she was driven by the same thing as she is today: not leaving those who others need out in the rain. To make “being dependent on others” as comfortable as possible for those who have become weak and dependent through illness or old age.
The primary goal was initially to set up an outpatient service. Practical support came from people from the district who had already gained relevant experience in Munich. The Glonnerin Bernadette Estendorfer held the first basic seminars, in 1998 there was the first advanced course. Since then, the association has trained 125 people in hospice care.
The current board: Susanne Mahn, Rita-Anna Grampp, Bernhard Hoiß, Doris Priesmeier and Maria Sommer (from left).
(Photo: Christian Endt)
Birgit Deppe-Opitz, one of the two full-time coordinators and course leader herself, explains what that means: “The curriculum comprises more than a hundred hours.” Typically, this takes about six months, but in times of Corona, a vintage was passed through very compactly for fear of being slowed down again, as in the first year of the pandemic. The training deals with topics such as palliative medicine, the work of the SAPV teamsi.e. specialized, outpatient palliative care, one talks about communication at the end of life, and one’s own experiences are reflected on again and again.
The hospice attendants come from a wide range of professional groups
Who are the 55 women and seven men who go to the families, to the retirement homes, to the palliative care station and to the hospice island? Member Brochure, which can be downloaded from the hospice association’s website. Some are in their forties, others already over 80. Most of the volunteers live in Ebersberg, their professional background is very different: Many come from medical and social fields, but there are also craftsmen, lawyers, business people and media professionals.
In addition to the volunteers, a decisive role for the association is played by its members, i.e. people who find hospice work so important that they support the association and its ideas financially and actively promote it in their environment. They make it possible for one of the basic pillars of the association to be maintained from the start: the services are free for everyone. You are also non-denominational. The only requirement is residency in the district. Club membership, however, is not required.
Hospice attendants support the seriously ill and their relatives.
(Photo: Christian Endt)
Like a “travelling circus” they initially trundled through the communities to present the hospice idea, Sommer says and laughs. The concept is actually quite simple, based on a quote from Cicely Saunders, founder of the hospice movement: “We can’t add more days to life, but we can add more life to the days.” So hospice attendants listen, offer company and closeness, stay where others might prefer to flee. Or to put it another way: It’s about “relieving hardship, promoting well-being, and enduring suffering”.
The volunteers in the Ebersberg district are mainly used in the home, “still our core business,” says Sommer. But this is constantly growing because the number of companions is increasing and also the number of cooperations with homes and the district clinic. “We have always seen our task in building the social network.” Working behind the scenes to create the palliative care unit later fought for the introduction of SAPV, i.e. the outpatient palliative team, for seven years. The association has been going to schools since 2012, telling children and young people about activities related to death, sometimes combined with role-playing games. In this way, fears of contact are successfully reduced. 2014 came mourning meeting added and the connection to network grief with other offers. 2022 finally could Hospice Island Glonn open.
Advice on living wills and powers of attorney is free of charge
Detailed information on all offers is provided by the Website of the association, but you are also welcome to call the two full-time operations managers, Birgit Deppe-Opitz and Christine Schlosser. The free consultations on living wills and powers of attorney from Maria Sommer are in high demand. She has been making around 40 appointments a year, exclusively at home since the beginning of the pandemic, which means that several people can easily be there. “Once a family of eleven was sitting around the table.”
From now on you can also go to Ignaz-Perner-Straße 9 in Ebersberg. “The district clinic has offered us shelter for all these years, but now we have our own rooms, three times the size of before.” Above all, Sommer and her colleagues are happy about the large shop window: “Now we are in the middle of Ebersberg, visible and approachable.” In addition to the offices, there is a large group room for the volunteers. Supervision, training and other events can take place there. Maria Sommer is also a little touched by the fact that “the whole thing has grown in this quarter of a century. We were such a small bunch at the beginning.”
Because the club has grown so much, even the new domicile will not be enough for the big anniversary celebration on March 12th. So the “Birthday 25 + 1” takes place in the old cinema in Ebersberg. As a movie matinee. “Let In Love” by Emmanuelle Bercot (2022) is shown about a mother and her 40-year-old son who deal with his cancer diagnosis very differently. Admission is free, everyone who already knows the hospice association or “want to take the opportunity to experience it and see that you don’t have to be afraid of these people” is welcome.
And as Birgit Deppe-Opitz knows from the courses, the dying companions also take something with them for their own life and growth. So it’s by no means about sacrifice, but about experiencing a lot of appreciation for others and getting something in return. “Maybe some light will come to us then,” a woman recently said to Christine Schlosser during the initial consultation. This closes the circle, because this light also warms everyone who is involved in the Christophorus Hospizverein Ebersberg.
Birthday party of the hospice association: film matinee on Sunday, March 12, at 11 a.m. in the old cinema in Ebersberg. Admission free. Registration at [email protected].