Serbian media delegation shines spotlight on Vienna's healthcare system

An efficient healthcare system is vital for the wellbeing of all citizens. Therefore, the City of Vienna has put a focus on healthcare for many years and has been sharing its knowledge with other cities abroad. In March 2025, media representatives from Serbia came on a research tour to Vienna to learn more about the city's healthcare system.

Media representatives of "Telegraf.rs", "Ekapija.com", the daily newspaper "Politika" and the news agency "Beta" were particularly interested in learning about the City of Vienna's flagship projects. The three-day programme included visits of medical institutions in Vienna, a meeting with Peter Hacker, Executive City Councillor for Public Health, and interviews about the healthcare sector.

The visit started with an extensive guided tour of the municipal hospital "Klinik Floridsdorf" and the innovative simulation centre that is run in cooperation with the Medical University of Vienna. The simulation centre provides a realistic environment for healthcare professionals to prepare for emergencies. "Klinik Floridsdorf" is Austria's most modern hospital. It opened in 2019 and boasts modern architecture. Several smaller hospitals such as the "Semmelweis" women’s clinic, the orthopaedic hospital "Gersthof" and the old municipal hospital "Floridsdorf" have been incorporated into the new "Klinik Floridsdorf".

Meeting with City Councillor for Public Health

On the second day of the visit, the media representatives met with Peter Hacker, Executive City Councillor for Public Health. He provided the guests from Serbia with an overview of and outlook on Vienna's Health Strategy. Recently, in January, the City presented a billion-euro programme to further modernise municipal hospitals and expand the primary care sector. It is the largest investment programme in the history of the Vienna Hospital Association and includes the establishment of additional primary care centres to relieve the burden on hospitals. The media delegation from Serbia visited the Primary Care Centre "Wien West".

The Vienna Health Strategy also focuses on the continuous education and training of healthcare professionals. The Serbian media representatives visited the Vienna Employment Promotion Fund (waff) that provides a specific programme for the training of nurses. Participants of the "Jobs PLUS Training" project get free training and, in addition, already work in the organisations that will hire them once they have completed their training. The City of Vienna hopes to have an additional 16,000 fully skilled nurses available by 2030.

"Häuser zum Leben" retirement homes

On the last day of the visit, the media delegation focused on retirement homes for senior citizens. They visited the retirement home "Haus Atzgersdorf", which is one of 30 so-called Häuser zum Leben retirement homes in Vienna, where senior citizens can live the last years of their lives in the best way possible. The homes provide their residents with a number of - sometimes rather unusual - leisure activities. At the retirement home "Haus Atzgersdorf", for example, residents have been brewing beer in the home's very own brewery in the basement since 2020.