Casa Sollievo Bimbi Paediatric Hospice

There’s a dark place that exists beyond simply being sick: is being incurable. That’s according to families with children in Italy who struggle with these conditions every day and have complex care needs.

There are 35.000 and only 15% of them receive the palliative care they need. For this reason, Intesa Sanpaolo, in collaboration with VIDAS (Italian volunteers providing care to the sick at home) decided to shine a light on such a difficult situation by opening the very first Children’s Hospice in Lombardy in March 2019: there are 6 mini apartments for children and their parents, where they continue to receive palliative care and human support in a warm and welcoming environment with a real sense of togetherness.

The Casa Sollievo Bimbi Children’s Hospice is a paediatric day-care service with three specific purposes:

• temporarily relieving families of the burden of medical care;
• helping children move between hospital and home;
• being with them at the end of their lives.

While the direct support given to VIDAS by Intesa Sanpaolo was absolutely essential in achieving this, the incredible contributions made by many people towards the furnishing of certain communal areas via the Group’s For Funding crowdfunding platform were even more important.

Taking action to improve the live-in facilities in our Country is not just one of the aims of the Bank’s Business Plan; it’s our responsibility to support those close to us and taking such action is vital when offering care to those struggling with their emotions even before physical effects take their toll. But most of all, it’s about offering support to families who bear the burden of care and the emotional toll that illness takes. As carers, mothers and fathers form something of an invisible support network, caring for their children who suffer from serious disabilities or cannot physically look after themselves. With these challenges in mind, which represent a significant aspect of care in Italy, Intesa Sanpaolo has taken on the responsibility of combining VIDAS’ efforts with those of Dynamo Camp - another important organisation committed to this issue - to strengthen involvement and broaden the scope of action.

This project is carried out in line with UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's). For more details, see the Sustainability section.