21 December 2023
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Dearest friends of the Maruzza Foundation,
As another year draws to a close, it is with great pleasure that I send you my sincerest wishes for a peaceful Christmas and a joyful New Year.
It is traditionally a time for reflection and gratitude, and so, I would like to share with you some of the Maruzza Foundation’s endeavours in 2023. In the first half of the year, we oversaw the coordination of the second edition of the nation-wide awareness campaign Giro d’Italia delle Cure Palliative Pediatriche. Once again, the initiative was an immense success thanks to the cooperation and engagement of 158 local organisations responsible for running 61 events in 17 regions. The theme of this year’s project was concerned with dispelling the fallacies and misconceptions linked to palliative care and incurable illness in children. A staggering total of 13 thousand informative leaflets were distributed during the dedicated events, reaffirming the unfaltering commitment of our community to raise awareness and promote access to dedicated palliative care for children with serious illness.
Throughout the year the Foundation was engaged in proposing training opportunities in key areas of PPC delivery through educational programs developed ad hoc for healthcare professionals working in local healthcare authorities and public medical facilities.
Furthermore, thanks to the scholarships created in honour of the memory of Eng. Mauro Sentinelli, two postgraduates in Paediatric Medicine and Paediatric Nursing were able to enrol in the Master’s Degree programme in Paediatric Palliative Care and Pain Management offered by Padua University, permitting them to improve their skills and knowhow and increase the quality of care offered to children and families with complex healthcare needs.
At an international level, in October, the Maruzza Foundation coordinated and hosted the EPEC PEDIATRICS – Advanced Pain & Palliative Care Workshop. Remarkably, over 70 delegates from 20 different countries came together in Rome to attend the three-day training program presented by a team of international PPC experts from around the world led by Dr. Stefan Friedrichsdorf, Professor in Pain Management, Paediatric Palliative Care and Integrative Medicine at the University of California in San Francisco.
We look forward to the New Year with the hope and conviction that we may continue to contribute to improving the quality of life of many children and families coping with a diagnosis of incurable illness. I thank everyone for their dedication and precious support by sending a sincere wish of peace, joy and happiness for the holidays and, above all, for the year to come.
Silvia Lefebvre D’Ovidio
President of the Maruzza Foundation