Vodafone Romania Foundation announces the winners of “The Life for Newborns Fund” financing round, worth 4.5 million lei, for the renovation, modernization and supply of medical equipment, including telemedicine solutions, for level I and II neonatology departments and wards in public hospitals across Romania, as well as for the training of medical teams.
The six beneficiary neonatal units belong to county and municipal hospitals in the cities of Botoșani, Caransebeș, Craiova, Mediaș, Slatina and Târgu Mureș. The project implementation will be handled by foundations and associations experienced in the field of medical project management, which, along with financing, will also benefit from technical consultancy for renovation works and consultancy for attracting funds destined for the long-term development of neonatal medical units from disadvantaged communities, provided by Vodafone Romania Foundation.
The winning projects are:
• A chance at life for newborns in Botoșani, Save the Children Foundation Romania – the modernization of the level II neonatology ward of the Botoșani County Emergency Hospital “Mavromati”.
• Optimal medical services for the rehabilitation and supply of modern medical equipment for the neonatology ward of the Caransebeș Municipal Emergency Hospital, “Banatul Montan” Community Foundation – the modernization of the level Ib neonatology department of the Caransebeș Municipal Emergency Hospital.
• Higher quality and more diverse medical services by equipping the Neonatology Clinic of the Craiova Municipal Clinical Hospital “Filantropia”, “Dincolo de Azi” Association – the modernization of the level II neonatology ward of the Craiova Municipal Clinical Hospital “Filantropia”.
• Welcome to the world, Prompt Maternity & Critical Care Association – the modernization of the level Ib neonatology ward of the Mediaș Municipal Hospital.
• The first breath, Flower Power Cultural Association – the modernization of the level II neonatology ward of the Slatina County Emergency Hospital.
• Life for newborns Mureș, Cristi Vasiliu Association – the modernization of the level II neonatology ward of the Mureș County Clinical Hospital.
“When we speak of medical interventions in the case of a newborn, the level of endowment with medical equipment of a neonatology ward can be the difference between life and death. We trust that these projects will contribute to offer severely ill babies in Romania a chance to survive. We estimate that after the conclusion of the projects, 11,000 newborns, among which 2,000 suffering from critical medical conditions, will benefit every year from the best care or optimal transfer conditions to neonatal intensive care and high-level premature wards and departments. Every year, 200 doctors and nurses will have proper medical conditions to care for newborns with various medical conditions. We thus contribute to fight a grim statistic, with Romania having the highest infant mortality rate in Europe”, declared Angela Galeța, Manager of Vodafone Romania Foundation.
To extend the modernization process to as many neonatal medical units in Romania, where needs are complex and urgent, Vodafone Romania Foundation, together with partner NGOs, is running a public fundraising campaign. This initiative is aimed at both citizens and companies, which can donate through various mechanisms (2 euro/month donated by sending an SMS with the text RITM at 8845, redirecting 3.5% of the income tax or 20% of the tax on profits, as well as through an online donation in the project account).
So far, the Vodafone Romania Foundation has invested 16 million lei in the construction and then in the extension of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the “Marie Sklodowska Curie” Hospital in Bucharest and in the modernization of the Neonatal Intensive Care Department within the Constanța County Emergency Clinical Hospital “Sf. Andrei”. Both departments were equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment, including two telemedicine solutions for remote monitoring of patients, secure real-life transmission of images and medical parameters and videoconferencing.
The Vodafone Romania Foundation is a Romanian nongovernmental charitable organisation, established in 1998, which operates separately and independently from the company’s business. In over 20 years of activity, Vodafone Romania Foundation has funded 1,168 programs conducted by 745 non-governmental organizations across the country, in the health, education, social services industry. The projects had over 3 million beneficiaries – children, young people, elderly, physically, socially or economically disadvantaged people. So far, Vodafone Romania Foundation invested EUR 31 million in projects conducted by partner non-profit organizations. More details about the Foundation’s programs are available at www.fundatia-vodafone.ro, http://jurnaldebine.fundatia-vodafone.ro/ and www.facebook.com/fundatiavodafone.
