UniCamillus physiotherapy lecturers and students at the Madre di Misericordia Clinic will offer their expertise to the most vulnerable patients.
UniCamillus has signed an agreement with the Holy See’s Dicastery for the Service of Charity to contribute to the physiotherapeutic care of the most vulnerable people who use the outpatient clinic directly requested by the Holy Father.
The activity will be carried out at the Madre di Misericordia Clinic, which already provides emergency medical service, as well as specialist medical and dental services to homeless patients.
The service will be available from December 2024. UniCamillus lecturers and students will be guided in their services—which, like all the activities of the Madre di Misericordia Clinic, will be completely free of charge—by an expert tutor provided by the University itself.
The difficult conditions of life on the street make the homeless more vulnerable to musculoskeletal and neurological disorders. In the last two years, the demand for rehabilitation treatment at the Madre di Misericordia Clinic has increased dramatically: 20% of all services requested are for acute or chronic musculoskeletal and neurological problems.
Physiotherapy and rehabilitation are currently partially covered by the Italian NHS. The situation is different for socially and economically disadvantaged people, such as the homeless or those not covered by the Italian NHS, who can receive orthopaedic and neurological rehabilitation free of charge at the Clinic.
“This collaboration with the Dicastery for the Service of Charity is an important opportunity for our University to support those who live in vulnerable conditions and have limited access to health care”, says Gianni Profita, Rector of UniCamillus. “It is an initiative that combines training, solidarity and community service, with the aim of providing free rehabilitation assistance to those who need it most. Our commitment is not only academic but also social, reflecting the principles of our University”.
This new initiative by UniCamillus and the Dicastery for the Service of Charity complements the collaboration that began last year, when an agreement was signed to provide free dental care to the neediest patients at the Madre di Misericordia and the Madonna della Fiducia clinics.