History of Social Protection in Novi Bečej IV

According to the job systematization at that time, besides the director, the Institution employed: one social worker, an accountant, a cashier - administrative clerk, an economist - warehouse worker, a nurse, two orderlies, two cleaners, two cooks, a laundress, and a janitor. For healthcare and treatment needs, the Institution had a contract with the Novi Bečej Health Center for general practice, with doctors changing every month. The specialist service for mentally ill women in the second ward, and as needed for other wards, was provided by Dr. Ivan Popov from Novi Sad. They worked four hours a week. A dentist also occasionally visited, engaged for two hours a week.²⁰

The number of users was constantly growing, so in 1966 the Home had about 160 people, with twice as many women, mostly with mental disorders. Users came from all parts of the then country. By engaging in various seasonal jobs, they integrated into the life of the local community. Visits by theater troupes, musicians, school children were organized for them... The goal was to create a homely atmosphere where users would feel at home.²¹
“Even today, when I see homemade strudels with poppy seeds and cheese, or pasta with cheese, potatoes, cabbage, and semolina, I feel a great nostalgia for those specialties from the home. Once a week, the menu included soup with strudels (always both salty and sweet). Another day of the week, it was soup with pasta. On those days, a real work action took place. All employees would knead dough for macaroni and strudels. There were no ready-made semi-products like today. Their workday started around four in the morning. Everyone was covered in flour. Titles didn't matter: manager, janitor, cook, nurse, or anyone else. The baking trays were huge, with four rows of thick, golden, fragrant strudels. I think that on those days, half of our town smelled of them.”²²
The late sixties were marked by optimism, as seen in the ambitious work plans for the upcoming period. Besides building and maintaining the Home's infrastructure, the emphasis was on improving the living conditions of users. An important segment in this goal was organizing their cultural and entertainment life. This included celebrations of national holidays, users' birthdays, excursions, and visits to similar institutions, school performances for users at the Home, literary meetings, and more. Additionally, as a precursor to occupational therapy, the aim was to engage users in maintaining the hygiene of the premises and the Home's circle, decorating the space, raising pigs and pigeons, and many other similar activities. As special occupational therapists, the following individuals were engaged: Milena Maljugic, Bogdanka Garčev, Danica Kokotović, and Dragoljub Vrebalov.²³
In 1975, the Home was located in three places: 60 and 77 Maršala Tita Street and 8 Milošev Road. The building at 60 Maršala Tita Street, purchased a few years earlier, was originally intended to be a residence for pensioners and married couples. It later became the third ward. The collective had 20 employees, of which four were in administration, four healthcare workers, and twelve technical staff. The responsible managers were: Mila Isakov, manager, Dragoljub Vrebalov, accountant and treasurer, Branimir Lisičin, secretary and cashier, and Zlata Đuričin, warehouse worker. The management body was the Assembly of Workers, and the executive bodies were: the Business Board, the Work and Work Relations Board, and the director. On average, there were about 250 users. The Home's activities expanded to assist elderly households, in terms of caring for the sick, maintaining their homes, purchasing and preparing food...²⁴
Jasmina Vlaškalin writes about those days: “In 1970, a house was bought from Danilo Glumičić at 60 Maršala Tita Street, housing 24 users and called the 'Outpost'. The janitor was Julijana Gorča, whom everyone called Juliš-mama, who had previously been a janitor in psychiatry. Nurses (from the first ward) came daily to: distribute therapy, dress wounds, give injections... The doctor came as needed. Food was brought on carts from the central kitchen, but they could prepare food for themselves if they wished. Everyone had a task: who washed dishes, who cleaned and washed rooms, changed bed linen, hung out laundry, dug the garden, sowed vegetables... Order, work, and discipline prevailed in the ward. Juliš-mama solved every problem and rarely sought help. Users could go out (in my opinion, this was a precursor to non-institutional protection - it was one big and harmonious family). After the death of Julijana Gorča in 1985, Etel Kiš and Milica Đukičin took her place, working in two shifts from 06 to 22 hours. They stayed alone at night.”²⁵
“The cultural and entertainment life was highly developed. In addition to occupational therapies: embroidery, knitting, making tapestries, painting, and board games (dominoes, 'Don't Get Angry', mill, cards), many could attend cinema and theater performances. New Year's Eve celebrations were organized and gift packages made for users and children who performed shows, recitals, folklore, choir... New Year, March 8, May 1, Republic Day were regularly celebrated with appropriate programs by children and artists. Branka Veselinović was a beloved and frequent guest. Poets Desanka Maksimović and Mira Alečković also visited. Dubravka Nešović sang beautifully for them. Their celebrations were known throughout the town and in other similar institutions in the country. They had friendly relations with everyone. Guests were eager to come to celebrations in Novi Bečej. Of course, visits and attention were reciprocated with an open heart. They had particularly good relations with the Children's Home in Zrenjanin, the Children's Village in Sremska Kamenica, the Gerontological Center in Priština, and similar institutions in Slovenia. They were twinned with the 'Istrians'. It was normal for the locals, especially the police, to use the home's services for every vagrant, hungry or mistreated person, child, woman, or man, so they called at any time of day and night, weekends and holidays. There were all kinds of cases and sad destinies. They would call on the phone, and my mother would often rush off on foot, alone at night, to see what was going on, receiving unexpected guests. All those brought in were calmed, bathed, clothed, fed, and given a place to sleep until their situation was clarified. I witnessed one such case on New Year's Eve. I was in the motel with my husband. Around one o'clock after midnight, the police from the train station called my mother. She immediately ran on foot to the train station, as they allegedly found an escaped ward. Of course, it wasn't an escaped ward from the home, but some vagrant.”²⁶
In the next ten years, the Home employed eight nurse technicians, working in two shifts on weekdays. They distributed therapy in the wards, visited sick users as needed, and participated in their care in various ways.²⁷
Longtime manager Mila Isakov was ceremoniously retired in 1982, after 32 years of running the Home. Ana Vlaškalin took over and stayed for less than a year. After her, Milan Ilić served as director from 1983 to 1989. During this time, the Home already had a general practitioner from the Health Center daily (half a working day), and specialists: a neuropsychiatrist, gynecologist, dentist, and laboratory services were also provided. Eight more nurses were hired. The work became much easier than before, given that a certain number of caregivers were employed, so each nurse, in addition to care, had much more time to dedicate to health care. New activities were introduced, such as occupational therapies for wards, handicrafts, exhibitions... The “Sunny Autumn of Life” event began, during which children, actors, artists visited, and various exhibitions were organized. Excursions, town performances, celebrations, anniversaries were arranged... The new home building, at 60 Maršala Tita Street, was completed in 1988, and with the Home's funds, a house at 62 Maršala Tita Street was purchased from the Glavaški family.²⁸

20 Archives of the Institution, Letter from the Home for the Elderly and Pensioners to the Assembly of the Municipality of Novi Bečej, December 15, 1969.
21 Archives of the Institution, Report on the work... for the period from 1955 to 1965; Dragan Džigurski, cited work, pp. 21, 26, and 27.
22 Ljiljana Panić - Lika, manuscript.
23 Archives of the Institution, Work plan of the Home for the Elderly and Pensioners Novi Bečej for 1968.
24 Archives of the Institution, Business report of the Home for the Elderly and Pensioners in Novi Bečej for 1975.
25 Data obtained from Jasmina Vlaškalin.
26 Ljiljana Panić - Lika, manuscript.
27 Data from the Home's Register of Workers.
28 Dragan Džigurski, cited work, pp. 46, 50, 52-54, 59, 61.