President’s message 2019

2019 has been a pivotal year. On the one side we have strengthened our human resources; on the other we have started a collaboration with the cantonal authorities with the aim of a long-term financial strategy and an evaluation of our training programme. In this way we have sown the seeds of an authentic compassionate community in Geneva that we hope will expand to other areas.

Management changes…

In La Maison de Tara’s first years the planning, supervision and project management were undertaken by a small group of people, often working full-time on a voluntary basis. This largely volunteer structure obviously greatly lessened our initial running costs. However, it was evident that for long-term stability, and to have a model that could be reproduced by others, this volunteer management had to be replaced by a team of salaried, professional staff.

The priority this year has therefore been the identification and the training of people with the management, administrative and interpersonal skills needed within the hospice. Our administrator, Sabine Murdoch accepted the challenge to fill the post of manager. Sabine’s personal qualities and professional skills are already making a great contribution to the effective running of the house and team harmony. The administrative post was filled by a previous volunteer who already had a good understanding of the needs and values of La Maison de Tara. We strengthened the nursing team, and we now employ a volunteer planning administrator. We are also collaborating with a fund-raising adviser. Finally, the accounts are now handled by an external professional. All these changes have inevitably resulted in higher staff costs. However, they bring the essential structural stability needed at this stage of our development.

Our training programme…

Since 2009, La Maison de Tara’s founder, together with other teachers, provided the theoretical and practical training, in French and English, of future volunteers so that they could develop the varied skills necessary to accompany our residents and ensure their well-being.

This training has evolved, year after year, characterised by dynamic change in the light of experience. To date, we have trained more than 400 volunteers, of an increasingly younger age (the median for the last group was 46 years). Two principal motivations for volunteering are a search for greater meaning in life and a desire to belong to an altruistic and compassionate community.

Valuable support …

For some years La Maison de Tara has received much appreciated financial contributions from the surrounding communes and most notably from the Commune of Chêne-Bougeries who provide our house. This support recognises the value of the services offered both within the house and also the importance of the training of the volunteers who will be the future care-givers throughout the whole community. For the first time this year, the Canton of Geneva has financed the training of one group of volunteers. This recognition by the cantonal authorities for these activities is very encouraging for the creation of a real Tara Training Centre. The volunteers in this group completed a questionnaire within the auto evaluation framework of the training. Evaluations were very positive to the point that some respondents described how the training and practical experience undertaken at Tara had improved their quality of life.

Programme of continued training…

Within the framework of our continued training programme for staff and volunteers, we had the privilege of benefiting from the knowledge and advice of two specialists in the field of palliative care and accompaniment. In June, we welcomed Mr Frank Ostaseski for a two -day seminar at Webster University on the theme of “Communication in the field of Palliative care”.
All the participants greatly appreciated the very pragmatic teachings of our guest and also the opportunity to spend two days together to share their experiences of life at La Maison de Tara.

In November - also at Webster University - we welcomed Professor Sophie Pautex, head of the Palliative Care Department at HUG, who spoke of palliative sedation. We opened this seminar also to outside interested health professionals which permitted a very fruitful exchange between our staff and professionals from other environments.

Spreading the word…

We continued to open our doors and to share knowledge and experience with many visitors throughout the year. These included people from other cantons interested in replicating the Tara model, educators and students, medical professionals and legislators. We continued to participate in the ongoing training programmes of HUG and HEdS.

A short presentation on the house was broadcast by World Radio Switzerland. We also targeted the anglophone community of Geneva by adding to the website an Englsh subtitled version of the excellent TSR programme of 36,9° broadcast in 2018.

Financial sustainability…

Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of our donors – both individuals and institutions – we achieved a certain financial stability in 2019. Naturally, fundraising remains a permanent and indispensable preoccupation of our Board of Trustees (Conseil de Fondation).

We have always been concerned that the daily residency rate, even though modest in comparison to the real costs, can dissuade certain patients from residency. Thanks to a large donation, given in anonymity and specifically for this purpose, we have been able to reduce the daily rate from CHF 200 to CHF 80 for all residents. The impact of this modification will be evaluated.

In summary…

During 2019 we have restructured our staffing and intensified exchanges with professionals and the community as a whole. We are pleased to observe that our philosophy and practices reflect the international movement of caring communities.

Motivated, confident for the future, and full of energy, the team looks forward to continued collaboration with all of you, dear friends and supporters of La Maison de Tara.

Anne-Marie Struijk-Mottu