BAD NEUSTADT AN DER SAALE – November 14, 2026 -- The RHÖN-KLINIKUM Campus Bad Neustadt has set up a dedicated room for dying patients and their relatives in its clinic for neurological early rehabilitation and neurological intensive care. Eleven patients have been accompanied there in their last phase of life since the room opened in early February 2026.
The room, called "Würdevolles Sterben" (Dignified Dying), is an additional option, so patients do not have to be moved off their ward. Relatives can stay with them, including overnight. The clinic treats people after traumatic brain injury, stroke and brain haemorrhage, starting in intensive care. According to the campus, end-of-life care there often took place in regular patient rooms, where relatives found it hard to spend undisturbed time.
Ward deputy manager developed the concept during a management course
Marie Wetzel, deputy head of Station 3 in neurological early rehabilitation, worked out the concept as project work in her DKG further training course for ward and unit management. The idea came from the ward team. Dr. Volker Ziegler, chief physician of the clinic, and an interdisciplinary team from nursing, medicine, therapy and relatives' counselling refined and implemented it.
Ziegler describes end-of-life care as one of the most demanding tasks in a hospital. He says the room creates better conditions for it.
The campus says a separate room also helps other patients on the ward and lets the treatment team focus on the dying person and their relatives. Six staff members from nursing, therapy and medicine have completed or are currently taking palliative care training. The campus reports positive feedback from relatives and staff but gives no figures.
The Verein zur Förderung der Palliativmedizin e. V., which promotes outpatient and inpatient palliative care in the region, provided major financial support for the room. The campus is one of five sites of RHÖN-KLINIKUM AG. The campus did not disclose the cost of the room or the size of the association's contribution.