On October 8, 2009, the Open Society Georgia Foundation held a public event to present an innovative project to provide free legal services to palliative care patients in Tblisi.
The one-year project—a partnership between the foundation's Law, Media, and Health Initiative and the Kordzadze Law Office—seeks to help terminally ill patients and their families address practical legal matters, such as estate planning and child care. The Open Society Georgia Foundation is calling on other law offices in Georgia to engage in similar projects.
Palliative care aims to improve the quality of life for patients and families facing life-threatening diseases by relieving pain and suffering through the provision of physical, psychosocial, and spiritual care. Dealing with legal and human rights issues that arise is a natural part of this holistic approach.
The public launch event featured a film about the project, which detailed the story of a terminally ill patient who was able to use pro bono legal support to reunite with her husband before her death.