Three services and the board
Our work takes place in three separate facilities on the same site: the Dr. Carl Wolff residential home for older people, with 106 places; the adult hospice, with 14 beds; and the children’s hospice, with 10 beds. Each serves different needs, and the projects complement one another. Medical services, kitchen, laundry, care of the grounds and buildings, and administration can be shared. This lowers costs and brings the team together as one community. Over the years, each project has helped open new paths in social care in Romania. The facilities are recognized nationally and receive material support from the state within the limits of the applicable law.
Board: president Baier Hannelore-Helga; vice-president Manta-Klemens Christine; members Barth Rotraut-Angelika, Stoeckmann-Kothen Petra and Rudolf Gerhild.
Dr. Carl Wolff residential home for older people
The home has 106 places. Since it was established in 1994, the German state, through the Federal Ministry of the Interior, has covered most of its costs. Residents stay for an indefinite period. Many come from rural communities disrupted by the emigration of ethnic Germans. In 2025 we cared for 130 older people.
We held activities chosen by residents: choir, theatre, occupational therapy and church services. Residents welcomed visitors, went into town and joined activities with older people from the city, organized through the church or together with the FDGR. In October, residents performed a short musical, “The Town Musicians of Bremen,” with musicians from the Sibiu State Philharmonic, led by cellist Marius Ungureanu. The home’s licence was renewed for five years from 4 November 2025.
Adult hospice
The Hospice House opened in 2006. We care for people from across the country who are in the terminal stages of cancer. We provide high-quality palliative care free of charge to all patients. Family members may visit whenever they wish. Care includes psychological support, social guidance, occupational therapy and spiritual counselling. The presence of clergy from different faiths, the psychologist and the occupational therapist is important to patients.
In 2025 we cared for 279 adult patients with terminal cancer. Visiting hours were welcomed, and clergy from different faiths devoted themselves to the patients in our care. Many had been through difficult periods and often felt marginalized by society. Many patients stayed only a few days, and we recorded many deaths during the year. Donations from companies and generous individuals helped us continue our work in good conditions and support patients and their families.
Care includes medical treatment and help with washing, eating and dressing wounds for patients who can no longer manage these tasks alone. We combine practical care with spiritual and creative support so that patients feel valued and accepted by their families and society and can retain their dignity.
In 2025, a project with the WeHelp Association, supported through the Sibiu Marathon, installed air conditioning in every patient room. The hospice held ANMCS category II accreditation, and the reaccreditation process was due to begin in 2026.
Children’s hospice
The children’s hospice provides round-the-clock treatment and care for children with incurable illnesses. Separate rooms upstairs are available for mothers and other family members. Since August 2016, we have been able to care for ten children with life-limiting illnesses together with their families for up to three months, including psychological support. We focus on pain management, medication, physiotherapy, psychological support and occupational therapy. Oxygen concentrators, suction devices and mechanical ventilators are among the equipment needed to ease suffering. In 2025 we cared for 34 children from across Romania.
Many children cared for in 2025 had multiple lasting impairments that prevented independent living, resulting from illness or household accidents. For nearly the whole year we cared for children who needed oxygen and had tracheostomies; many also depended on mechanical ventilators. They spend long periods in intensive care units, where beds are insufficient. Other centres often refuse them, and they may be moved between wards or return to hospital soon after admission. Their care takes time, patience and dedicated staff. The welcoming atmosphere at the hospice helps them keep fighting for better days.
For some children, the greatest hardship is the absence of parental affection. We estimate that about 85% of the children cared for in 2025 were abandoned by their families because of their illnesses. The team’s involvement helps them learn to smile. Poverty, fear of responsibility and lack of involvement can leave children alone; a welcoming environment after hospital can give them strength to keep fighting. We believe the lack of a national strategy to encourage parental responsibility and involvement adds to these children’s psychological suffering.
Even when a child’s life is short, we try to bring as many good moments as possible. Children who arrived without baptism were baptized in keeping with their parents’ religion. Donations help us make the hospice a home for them and shield them from the worries weighing on their families.
Funding, community and thanks
The hospice has a contract with the Sibiu Health Insurance House. In 2025, it covered 30% of costs, while sponsorships and themed projects covered 70%. Rising costs for medical supplies, medicines and special food made our work harder. The Romanian state provided no support for the care of these children; without sponsors, we could not have managed the year financially. More than 75% of adult hospice inpatients could not afford the dressings and other care materials they needed from their pension, disability pension or social assistance. Patients and their families value the care and attention they receive during admission.
Our association is firmly rooted in the Sibiu community. The adult hospice cause was warmly received at the Sibiu Marathon, where participation far exceeded expectations. The Hospice Sibiu Facebook page shares weekly updates about the centre and the children. The residential home also shares its activities on its Facebook page. Our whole team thanks our sponsors and everyone who supports us. Without their active help, Hospice Sibiu could not continue its work.
Director: Rhein Ortrun.
