Mission
BELhospice is dedicated to the provision of services, but also to the development of palliative care at the national and regional level through the education of professionals and the public, the development of legislation through cooperation and partnership with state institutions.
Vission
We believe that palliative care is a human right. Our vision is that every person in need has access to adequate palliative care, in order to reduce suffering and preserve dignity.
History of the organization
2004
Dr. Nataša Milićević, together with a group of her colleagues, founded the charitable organization BELhospice – Center for palliative care and palliative medicin. Then, also, the first specialized team for home care is formed, consisting of one doctor and one nurse.
This team started the pioneering work of developing palliative care in Serbia.
The main goals of the BELhospice center were:
• to provide quality palliative care to incurable oncology patients in Serbia in accordance with the definitions of the World Health Organization and the Council of Europe;
• to promote palliative care in Serbia with wider social support;
• to educate professionals and inform the public about the importance of palliative care.
2005
2006
With the help of a donation from the charity organization Hospices of Hope from Great Britain, the BELhospice center opens the Prue Dufour educational center, which is named in memory of one of the pioneers of the hospice movement in Great Britain. As part of medical education, courses and expert lectures on the topic of palliative care are regularly held in this center to this day.
2011-2014
The project of the Ministry of Health Development of palliative care in Serbia, funded by the European Union, is being implemented by an international consortium led by Oxford Policy Management. Members of this consortium are the BELhospice center and Hospices of Hope.
Through the project:
• more than 1,000 professionals involved in providing palliative care at all levels of health care were educated;
• a program for graduate and post-graduate teaching for medical faculties and related educational institutions was developed.
2012
BELhospice expands its multidisciplinary team – the first social worker and the first volunteer coordinator start working, and trains the first group of 20 volunteers, which makes it unique in Serbia. A psycho-social and spiritual support program has been developed for patients and family members, including bereavement support.
The BELhospice multidisciplinary team for home care consists of two doctors, two nurses, a social worker, a volunteer coordinator, a psychologist, a spiritual coordinator, and over 70 volunteers.
2017
It is a licensed home care service that demonstrates a holistic approach and the work of multidisciplinary teams in providing palliative care to patients and families.
Mijodrag Bogićević becomes a member of the Working Group for Volunteering (2017-2021) of the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPZ). For the first in the history of Serbia.
2018
In October, the Day Center of the first hospice in Serbia opens and starts working in Mali Mokro Lug.
The BELhospice Sustainability Club was founded, which has 28 members from the corporate sector.
2019
The day care service within the Hospice Day Center in Mali Mokro Lug has been licensed by the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs.
2020-2021
2022
The project “Hospice in a House for Children” was launched with the support of Hospices of Hope and the James Tudor Foundation. A team consisting of a pediatrician, a nurse, a physiotherapist, a psychologist, and a social worker was formed. The home care service for children and adults is licensed by the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs. A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed with the Institute for Mother and Child Dr. Vukan Čupić.
BELhospice Club of sustainable giving has 61 members.
