History

I was born in Berlin on 1th March, 1945, and grew up in a middle-class borough. When I was twelve, I was already known in my neighbourhood as a girl who liked to give anybody a helping hand: elderly people who needed help with their shopping or parents looking for a kind person to babysit. In other words: I was a whirlwind with a big heart.

It became clearer and clearer that I wanted to become a nurse in order to help whenever and wherever possible.

At the age of 18, my dream came true, and I was trained to be a nurse. After six semesters I graduated with a good final grade and devoted heart and soul to being a nurse. I gained professional experience while working for several nursing care institutions. I also worked as a nursing home manager in an outpatient nursing station in Berlin-Wilmersdorf. That was where I met Shaodong Fan, a Chinese physicist, who worked there on a transitional basis after having graduated. A significant moment which was to influence my life crucially.

While working together, I soon felt that due to our very different talents and character traits we would be good at establishing our own outpatient nursing station. We decided fast to use this opportunity. And on 1st July, 1995, the great day arrived: RENAFAN (a blend of our names RENA(te) and FAN) was founded as an outpatient nursing station.

The step into self-employment became – and not only for me – a success story. We were to find out that we had made the right decision at the right time. We started small with only one outpatient nursing station in Berlin-Tegel (Reinickendorf). After a short while, we opened more branches in other boroughs of Berlin. We also developed further concepts of care such as “Assisted Living“, “Assisted Living and Inpatient Care”, “Intensive Care at Home“, “Day Care“, “Short-term Care“, “Inpatient Care“ and “Inpatient and Outpatient Care of Dementia Sufferers“. Such forms of care were then united in a patient-oriented service centre called “ServiceLeben“. In addition, we offer comprehensive care for people with disabilities, provided by our non-profit subsidiary GIS.

The focus of our work lay and lies on people. From the beginning, we wanted to care for our patients just like we would have cared for our parents. With our concept of various forms of care we rose to one of the most innovative service providers for nursing care in Germany. By now the diverse and high-quality services of RENAFAN Group have an influence on the landscape of healthcare and social affairs in Germany.

Now the time has come for me to withdraw from the day-to-day operational business. However, I would like to go on using the medical knowledge I have acquired over decades as well as my expertise in nursing care and in dealing with people.

Establishing a foundation has been a long-desired wish of mine. It came true when the Foundation was officially approved on 7th June, 2013. A real milestone in my life. The Renate Guenther Foundation is dedicated to providing assistance to people where needed – we are committed and full of energy.

“You only live if there is something you live for.“

A motto running like a recurrent theme through my life.