Thailand Information | St. Clare's Hospice | Retreat Center

Before Francis' conversion, he was sickened by the sight of lepers. After he began listening to God speak to his heart, he one day reached out and touched a leper. In keeping his eyes on the leper, in thinking only of this person before him, he forgot himself and was able to embrace with love and happiness the one thing whose very sight once nauseated him.

Today those with AIDS are often treated as was the leper during the time of St. Francis. At St. Clare's Hospice, the patients are embraced with that same love and happiness in which Francis embraced the leper.

What is St. Clare's Hospice?

St. Clare's Hospice is a 16-bed hospice for patients who are in the last stages of AIDS. The Franciscan Friars saw a great need to care for poor and homeless persons with AIDS and decided to open St. Clare's Hospice on the grounds of their retreat center. The hospice received its first patients on July 5, 1993, and has since been receiving those who are poor or have no families to care for them. We provide a clean, dignified and caring home for the dying. The criteria for admission are simple: patients must be poor, homeless and diagnosed as being in the final stage of the AIDS disease. Medical treatment and referrals are provided by physicians from Medicins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders). Generally, our patients are men and women ranging in age from twenty-five to sixty. At this writing, St. Clare's Hospice has been the home and place of death for nearly two hundred persons. The hospice is supported mostly by private gifts. Recently we also have begun to receive some funds from the Thai government.

The hospice, located about 60 kilometers northeast of Bangkok in Lamsai, Pathumthani Province, is surrounded by several ponds and beautifully maintained gardens.

Who staffs the hospice?

The hospice is staffed by nurses who are members of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent DePaul and by other assistants who work with the sisters in the daily care of the patients. Physicians and nurses from Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) come to examine patients twice a week and prescribe the proper treatment. MSF also works out of several hospitals and makes home-visits to patients before referring them to the hospice for further intensive care. The friars and the sisters are also available to give spiritual assistance and guidance to the patients when needed.

What services are offered?

1. Daily care of the patients
2. Daily medication
3. Visit from MSF twice a week
4. Meals and snacks
5. Transportation to hospital for examinations
6. Short-term hospice care for one or two weeks to give the family a rest

Patients are usually referred to the hospice by physicians after being screened by MSF. The conditions for being accepted are:

1. Must be in the last stages of AIDS
2. Must have no family to care for them
3. Must be poor or homeless