12th of May 2021

Munich

The non-profit Korian Foundation for Care and Ageing with Dignity, based in Munich, was founded in 2020. The foundation's goals and activities include developing projects and programs that focus on the well-being of caregivers, which goes hand in hand with dignified ageing. Because, according to the Foundation's mission statement, good care in old age and ageing with dignity -especially when there is need of care - require that caregivers are doing well.

On the occasion of today's International Nurses Day, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, who is the founder of today's care system, the director of the Korian Foundation, Elisabeth Scharfenberg, reminds us that the realisation and the narrative that care workers are system-relevant is not enough. There must be tangible consequences, both for the care workers themselves and ultimately also for those in need of care. Because anyone can be affected by the need of care.

"This year, the motto of the International Nurses Day is "A vision for future healthcare". 

Former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt once said "Those who have visions should go to the doctor". Not quite so easy, especially in rural regions where medical and nursing care is becoming increasingly scarce. Any vision for a health care system of the future can only become reality if nursing care in particular is supported and valued. 

Nursing care is and remains the linchpin for high-quality health. Our society as a whole is dependent on this, especially in this pandemic. Surveys show that many nursing staff have reached their absolute limit. 

It is to be feared that at the end of Corona we will be threatened with an increased nursing exit, i.e. an exit from the nursing profession. The pandemic will no longer allow us to look the other way. Nursing is systemically relevant. That is why visions must quickly become reality."

About the Korian Foundation for Care and Ageing with Dignity

The non-profit Korian Foundation for Care and Dignified Ageing, founded in 2020, aims to promote the development of care for the elderly and health care in Germany and abroad, as well as education, training, science and research in the field of care and medicine. The focus is on carers, for whom offers are developed that strengthen their physical and mental health. In this way, people in need of care are also considered. Dignity, recognition and respect for all parties - that is the holistic motto of the foundation.