In response to a call to develop Compassionate Cities in their respective communities, representatives of the cantons of Oreamuno, Turrialba, San Rafael de Heredia and Curridabat and the district of Tucurrique expressed their willingness to be part of the Costa Rica compassionate country project.
During a virtual session held this March 20 with the participation of around twenty representatives of organizations, the Federation of Municipalities of Cartago also joined the call, reiterating its support to make Cartago the first compassionate province of Costa Rica,
This initiative – which seeks to provide comprehensive care for people in the final stage of their lives and their caregivers – is led by the Partir con Dignidad Foundation (FPCD) and Coopenae, using the “All with You” methodology of the Spanish New Health foundation. .
Cartago, the first
Last October, the central canton of Cartago was accredited as a compassionate city, a project that seeks to expand to the rest of the province and the national territory with the goal of Costa Rica being the first compassionate country in the world.
Those attending the virtual session – directed from Seville by Silvia Librada from New Health – described the project as necessary and complementary to the actions they carry out in favor of the adult population and highlighted the novelty of including quality of life and care for patients in palliative condition through community support and specialized professional care.
Officials from the Ministry of Health recalled that Compassionate Cities are part of the National Aging and Old Age Policy. For their part, representatives of the Municipality of the central canton of Cartago highlighted the success of the implementation of the project and reiterated their support and commitment to this initiative.
Compassionate Cities across the country
During the session, Librada referred to the diagnosis, training, awareness and intervention process that was carried out in the central canton of Cartago for 18 months until last October, when Compassionate City accreditation was achieved.
Likewise, she explained the design and execution that will be carried out with the five communities that have expressed their interest in becoming Compassionate Cities, which she estimated could last until 2026.
At the beginning of the session, Otto Peraza, Strategy Manager of Coopenae, expressed his satisfaction because this initiative moves efforts to address a real problem, such as caring for the most fragile, reaffirmed the commitment to compassion and advocated for a more supportive community. .
For his part, Randall Otárola, executive director of the FPCD, assured that “today began an important stage for the Compassionate Cities project. Its escalation to the provincial level and beyond indicates that the efforts to accompany, guide and care for people in their last days have to transcend.”
“We are excited to continue promoting ecosystems of care and support, which raise awareness not only of family members and caregivers, but also of communities on topics such as palliative care and healthy aging,” he stressed.
The activity – which lasted for two hours – was attended by representatives of the FPCD, Coopenae, New Health, Federation of Municipalities of Cartago, Municipality of Oreamuno, Turrialba, El Guarco, Curridabat and San Rafael, elected trustee of Tucurrique, regional authorities of Ministry of Health, among others.
The Compassionate City aims to apply a comprehensive care model in palliative care based on compassion, seeking to create and strengthen a community united by the vocation to care.
Caring for the elderly population – a population group that increased by 59% from 2008 to 2019 – is one of the great challenges facing Costa Rican society. Today, this segment represents 13% of Costa Rica’s inhabitants: some 710,417 people, of which 27% are in poverty.
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