Wolfratshausen: The hospice association is repositioning itself

Created: 05/12/2022, 18:00

By: Peter Herrmann

The Board of Directors of the Christophorus Hospice Association: (from left) Treasurer Edith Peter, Secretary Regina Maier, Deputy Chairwoman Patricia Vogl and Chairman Walter Obinger.

© Herrmann

Wolfratshausen – The main goal of the Christophorus Hospice Association is that seriously ill people can live according to their ideas until they die.

Walter Obinger, who was recently elected successor to the long-standing chairman Hans Lenhardt, is now also committed to this.

"I was looking for a new challenge and really wanted to get involved in this club," said Obinger shortly before his election.

The death of his wife prompted him to take part in a funeral walk organized by the Christophorus Hospice Association last year.

The 69-year-old learned how committed the 322 members are to caring for the terminally ill and their relatives.

The retired savings bank director was so impressed by this commitment that he immediately decided to become a member and has now taken over the chair.

At the annual general meeting in the event hall of the savings bank, 31 members unanimously elected him.

The pensioner, who lives in the Eglingen district of Schalkofen, receives support from the deputy chairwoman Patricia Vogl, treasurer Edith Peter and secretary Regina Maier.

Before the swiftly conducted elections, the outgoing chairman Hans Lenhardt and coordinator Elke Holzer looked back on the past two years.

Accordingly, after the outbreak of the corona pandemic in 2020, the number of hospice attendants initially fell so sharply that the association even had to worry about urgently needed funding.

"Many were just afraid of getting infected," speculated Lenhardt.

High expenditure of time

The figures for the following year were all the more gratifying and surprising.

Because in 2021, the extensively trained members accompanied 112 people as they died - more than ever before in the club's 29-year history.

There were also lectures on living wills and powers of attorney, a funeral hike that was carried out for the first time, as well as a closed conference and an orientation weekend for hospice attendants.

Elke Holzer referred to the high expenditure of time for the consultations and palliative care support, which took place either by telephone or on site in nursing homes, at home or in the district clinic in Wolfratshausen.

"There is often crying, singing and prayer at the deathbed," she said.

However, the presence of a hospice attendant is often enough to relieve overburdened relatives.

In total, around 900 volunteer hours and 8,266 kilometers were driven last year.

Graduate social worker Gabriele Leinauer reported on a new grief group that has met eight times to date.

At the end of the annual general meeting, the helpers once again paid tribute to the outgoing board members Hans Lenhardt, Margret Mahlo and Frauke Baumgarten in a role play.