Two state-of-the-art Mobile Medical Units and an MRI scanner were inaugurated today by the Health Unit (AEMY S.A.), marking the launch of the National Primary Healthcare Education and Promotion Program in island and border regions of Greece, which is supported exclusively by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (www.SNF.org).
The inauguration ceremony was held at the Olympic Village Polyclinic and hosted by the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Karolos Papoulias. The event was also attended by the Minister of Health, Mr. Adonis Georgiades.
The Foundation’s initiative and grant allowed the purchase of two Mobile Medical Units and an MRI scanner, as well as necessary medical equipment that will ensure the medical units’ capacity to meet basic needs and provide open access to reliable and comprehensive healthcare services for all. In addition, the Foundation’s grant marks the launch of the National Primary Healthcare Education and Promotion Program in island and border regions of Greece. This is a five-year program aimed at providing comprehensive healthcare and support services to residents of border islands and remote areas across Greece, while also offering preventative care and promoting healthcare and wellness on a national level.
The two fully equipped Mobile Medical Units will implement and execute an innovative health program throughout Greece, whereby residents of the country’s remote areas will receive high- quality medical care from professionals of all specialties, free of charge. In particular, the Mobile Medical Units provide access to the following specialists: gynecologist, dietician, cardiologist, dentist, orthopedist, ophthalmologist, pulmonologist and otolaryngologist. In addition, the Mobile Medical Units will be capable of performing specialty procedures, as they will both be equipped with a digital mammography unit, a portable X-ray machine, and a bone density scanner.
The two units will begin their journey on January 17th from Kastelorizo, giving the residents of the border island the opportunity to undergo a number of medical and diagnostic tests, while similar visits will follow in the islands of Amorgos, Kassos, Astypalea, Patmos, Folegandros and Sikinos, within the first year of the program’s launch. Over five years the Program aims to cover the medical and diagnostic needs of approximately 55,000 citizens of all ages, in 35 islands and border regions, across the entire country.
In charge of the Program’s design and implementation is Dr. Panagiotis Koulouvaris, Head Lecturer at the University Orthopedic Clinic and Scientific Coordinator of the Olympic Village Polyclinic Orthopedic Department.
Andreas Dracopoulos, President of the Board of Directors of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, stated: “The National Primary Healthcare Education and Promotion Program introduces two innovative features to Greece: on the one hand, it offers free comprehensive healthcare services to all citizens and, on the other hand, it contributes to the effort to address the ‘healthcare exclusion’ of residents of our country’s border and remote regions. Those two features deem the Foundation’s relevant grant essential, necessary and highly important, especially during the course of the extended socioeconomic crisis that has, among other things, severely affected the area of Health. The success of all of the Foundation’s grants and programs is based and depends upon the organizations and people responsible for their implementation. They are our partners in the effort to support the common good. On behalf of the Foundation, I would like to warmly thank both Dr. Panagiotis Koulouvaris and his colleagues for the design and implementation of the program; they are the heart and soul of the effort. The initiative highlights the importance of partnership between all social actors, and of cooperation and volunteerism in our common effort for a different and better future.”
Fotis Seretis, President of the Board of Directors of the AEMY S.A., remarked: “The healthcare journey that the two state-of-the-art Mobile Medical Units are about to embark upon in a few days, with the support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, does not correspond only to the aims of AEMY S.A. for implementing healthcare programs for residents of islands and remote areas across the country, but also addresses the ever-increasing needs of citizens for free access to comprehensive healthcare services.”
The grant to AEMY SA is part of the Foundation’s three-year (2012-2015) initiative, to commit €100,000,000, in addition to its other, ongoing activities in Greece and globally, in order to combat the effects of the socioeconomic crisis.
For more information on the Mobile Medical Units Program, please visit the Polyclinic website at www.aemy.gr
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