Based on national guidelines, and in collaboration with others, the foundation runs cross-profession courses of education and skills development programmes in the areas of palliative care (end-of-life care), existential support in healthcare and care environments (mental health, suicide prevention, spiritual needs) and arts and health (arts and culture for wellbeing and as a human right).

Target groups for the foundation are staff and decision makers in healthcare and care environments, and people in other human-care activities. The activities also include providing support for close relatives, for example regarding suicide prevention, mental health and end-of-life care. Betaniastiftelsen is a member of Famna – the National Organisation for Ideas-Based Welfare.

History

For over a hundred years, Betaniastiftelsen has been committed to helping the most vulnerable people in society. During most of the 20th century, the foundation ran hospitals, retirement homes and nursing education courses – always with the fundamental concept of making good healthcare and care available to all people, regardless of their circumstances and background. Today, the foundation is at the forefront of skills development, evidence-based knowledge and experience exchanges. The foundation moves between the public and private arenas and fills gaps in which other market participants are not active, and also initiates new research.

Kulturarenan

Cultural access is a human need, a right, and is of great importance for achieving a meaningful existence. Art and culture help us get a grip on ideas about identity, views on humans and life issues. Betaniastiftelsen therefore runs Kulturarenan, which makes concerts, film viewings and performances available to people who, because of old age, illness or functional problems, cannot go to various cultural experiences.

In close collaboration with healthcare and cultural stakeholders, Betaniastiftelsen, together with Studio Acusticum (supported by the Region of Norrbotten and the Swedish Arts Council), has created Kulturarenan. A natural step in this successful collaboration, in which the expertise of each party is utilised, is to develop a methodology aimed at enhancing the cultural experience of those who cannot attend the concert hall, but can instead enjoy concerts via a screen. The methodology is typical of the innovation that Kulturarenan represents, and will hopefully lead to more and deeper cultural experiences, and also to skills development measures in healthcare and care environments regarding the importance and use of digital cultural resources.