Munster Hospital is developing complementary approaches to improve patient care. The management was inspired by their neighbor, Colmar Hospital, which has become an aromatherapy hospital since 2015 thanks to the work of Catherine Maranzana, a dedicated nurse who developed the use of essential oils for patients as a complementary approach. She has been a trainer at Munster since 2016 and is the coordinator of the aromatherapy team. She has trained a referent, Valerie Matter, a caregiver to implement the protocols and lead the hospital’s Aroma team.
In 2017, they developed a protocol to treat fungal infections, a recurring pathology in the elderly. The essential oils used have antifungal and healing actions. Valerie collected the results obtained on 25 patients over a period of 3 years by taking before and after treatment photos. She was able to demonstrate the effectiveness of this protocol. The results were positive for both patients and caregivers.
The grant from the Gattefossé Foundation will allow the development of this treatment outside of the hospital by training nurses who visit patients at home as well as the information of doctors practicing outside of the hospital in the city.
