This Black Forest clinic helps

Modern medi­cine has made gigantic advances in recent years. Many illnesses that used to be regarded as incur­able can be treated today; however, this often involves great phys­ical and mental burdens for the patients. These strike chil­dren and teenagers partic­u­larly hard. Their fami­lies also shoulder a heavy burden in this process. The Kathari­nen­höhe reha­bil­i­ta­tion clinic in the Black Forest has specialised in precisely such cases. The goal of the project is to ease the often painstaking path to recovery for young patients and their fami­lies. By means of a diverse ther­a­peutic offering, the specialist succeeds in opening new prospects to the patient despite the diffi­cult situ­a­tion.

After all, the young patients at the Kathari­nen­höhe after­care facility have a lot to laugh about

In this task, the Kathari­nen­höhe clinic relies on dynamic support of every kind. For this reason, ebm-papst in St. Georgen has been in a part­ner­ship with the insti­tu­tion since 1998. The occa­sion for this was a change in thinking at Christmas. In that year the managing direc­tors decided to send busi­ness part­ners only greeting cards instead of presents, and in the card they referred to a worth­while social project. The amount saved for the presents went entirely to the benefit of the Kathari­nen­höhe clinic, which was being built at the time. This dona­tion enabled the insti­tu­tion to afford a trans­port vehicle, an impor­tant part of the clinic infra­struc­ture. The action went over so well with our busi­ness part­ners that now some of them also belong to the supporters.

Although some projects have been added since then, ebm-papst still continues donating to the Kathari­nen­höhe clinic every year at Christmas. “It was impor­tant to us from the begin­ning for this to be more than just a one-time action”, comments Peter Metzger, Manager of Busi­ness Devel­op­ment and Marketing in St. Georgen. “The commit­ment of the people at the Kathari­nen­höhe clinic has simply earned long-term support.” In this way, over the years, the clinic has been able to acquire things such as impor­tant therapy equip­ment, a concert grand for the music room and a high rope course. This year as well, the dona­tion will be used to make the everyday life of the young patients some­what more colourful.