Original article: Municipalidad de Puente Alto realizará el primer Congreso Comunal de Cuidados Paliativos en Chile

Puente Alto to Host Chile’s First Community Palliative Care Congress

The Palliative Care program in Puente Alto serves the highest number of patients in Chile, pioneering community-based care.

In this context, the municipality will hold the first Community Palliative Care Congress on December 11, 2025, at the INACAP auditorium in Puente Alto. This event is the only one of its kind in the country organized by a local government.

The municipality explained that the congress «is a closed event for about 100 health officials from the community, created in response to the realities observed on the ground. In many cases, families lack support networks, and the palliative care team acts as the only nearby network that regularly visits patients and caregivers.»

Consequently, the Puente Alto municipality added that the goal of the event is to highlight and value the role of caregivers, as well as to train the officials who work daily to ensure dignified care.

The day will bring together the team from the Community’s Subdirectorate of Palliative Care alongside palliative care physicians from Sótero del Río Hospital, who will share their clinical experiences, reflections, and evidence-based practices, aiming to promote a comprehensive, humanized, and collaborative approach in caring for individuals with palliative needs.

According to the subdirector of the area, Jael Hidalgo, exchanging experiences is crucial, as there is still a long way to go in Chile: «The Palliative Care Law 21.375 was approved in 2021, and three years have passed since its implementation in primary care. This law expands coverage to include not just cancer patients but also non-cancer patients,» stated Jael Hidalgo.

«It is important for officials to receive training to conduct a more comprehensive assessment of patients, so they can refer them in a timely manner to the program. We want to improve the quality of life for those facing serious or terminal illnesses from the very beginning, so they do not have to live with pain,» emphasized the subdirector.

Finally, as part of the initiatives leading up to the congress, a Community Caregivers’ Meeting was held last March. Additionally, in November, two events were conducted in honor of Caregivers’ Month, where breakfasts were provided to 60 caregivers.

The first event at Parque Gabriela recognized 20 individuals, and then in partnership with Colegio Cardenal Raúl Silva Henríquez from Fundación Belén Educa, 60 breakfasts were delivered to caregivers in their homes.

The Citizen