The President toured the hospice facilities, spoke to employees and patients, congratulated everybody on the New Year and Christmas and presented gifts. The President was accompanied by Archpriest Alexander Tkachenko who initiated the opening of the hospice, Acting Governor of St Petersburg Alexander Beglov and Healthcare Minister Veronika Skvortsova.
The hospice provides medical care to St Petersburg children aged between three months and 18 years to relieve pain and other severe symptoms at the stage when other forms of radical treatment are exhausted.
Relying on their own experience, the hospice staff has developed a number of palliative care study and training materials. Palliative care professionals from other regions visit the hospice regularly to study the comprehensive approach to helping disabled children and further share this experience with other similar medical facilities.