Alžbětinky has been taking care of the sick Na Slupi for 300 years, the derelict area is awaiting repair
Elizabethan lost the hospital in 1948 after nationalization. They managed to get back only in 2019. Now they are trying to transform the facility into a modern hospital.
“At the end of 2019, we took over the hospital building in a very neglected condition. Part of the hospital’s medical facilities was located in obsolete, technically unsuitable buildings, which suffered from a number of shortcomings disrupting the smooth operation, “explains Tomáš Petrůj, a representative of the Elizabethan Convent.
Completion of the area and gardens
At present, the order and the church are preparing a concept for the development of the hospital and the monastery complex. The Elizabethan women want to start the reconstruction by improving and increasing the number of beds in the aftercare department.
They also plan to modernize the space and facilities for outpatient care or the completion of a new part of the hospital building located in Albertov and Na Slupi streets.
The new wing will serve the station of the municipality for animals, as well as for specialized outpatient services and the provision of comprehensive rehabilitation care.
“In the next steps, we are preparing a gradual revitalization of the monastery gardens. We want to return to the roots of their origin. They not only served a useful function, such as growing medicinal herbs, but it was also a place of rest and contemplation, an iconic place, referring to God and faith in him, “adds Petrůj.
For aftercare
At present, the Hospital of St. Alžběty Na Slupi provides follow-up inpatient care for patients coming for treatment after acute hospitalizations, operations or deteriorating health in the home environment.
The hospital takes care of patients after joint replacements or other orthopedic procedures. About people after a stroke or with neurological diseases who need to complete treatment. It also helps those who suffer from complications after covid19. The pulmonary outpatient clinic offers comprehensive examinations, including postcovide screening.
The Prague Elizabethan manages the Na Slupi hospital, but does not directly participate in its daily operation. The order had to relocate to Broumov in 1948, and due to the interruption of activities, the Elizabethan nuns were left with no nurses of active age as a necessary medical education.
Nurses from other orders also help with the operation
The nurses currently live in one wing of the hospital, which is housed in the convent building. Most of the paramedics are civilian employees, but nurses from other orders are slowly beginning to help with the operation. “In the restructuring of women’s orders, it is planned that this operation will be sponsored by other women’s orders in the future,” Petrůj explains.
The Hospital of St. Alžběty Na Slupi to expand the professional medical portfolio, especially outpatient services and inpatient care.
“We will still remain a medical aftercare facility, but we want to move our services closer to the social needs of our patients and gradually cover the space of most types of health services in the health and social border,” explains Ivana Doleželová, the hospital’s headmistress.
Elizabeth, the founder of the hospital, was inspired by St. Elizabeth, a Hungarian princess. She built a hospital in Germany and cared for the sick every day. The princess was a cousin of the Czech King Wenceslas I and his sister St. Anežky České.
The author of the project of the monastery with the hospital was Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer, an important representative of the High Baroque. The monastery building was built between 1726 and 1732 with the financial support of the Czech nobility. The construction of the hospital itself began on April 8, 1728. At the time, the hospital boasted the largest and tallest hospital hall in Prague, which extended over two floors.