Eight years of stable deliveries to the Greek islands completed Alfa-Bank’s “Together for Health” corporate responsibility program, which is now dynamically expanding to remote areas of mainland Greece, starting with the Thessaly region. The expansion, which is not only geographical, but also enhanced by an additional important action: the possibility of donating medicines to social pharmacies by Alfa-Bank employees, which is offered in cooperation with the GivMed organization. From Heraklia, Koufonisia, Samothrace and Kastelorizo ​​to Meganisi in Lefkada, Karia Olympos and Zagora in Pelion, permanent residents anywhere in Greece have equal access to health care through the decisive contribution “Together for Health”.

The results of the program’s “Social Impact Study”, which were presented in Heraklia in early October, provide a framework as well as a substantial footprint for action. Thus, 96% of those who used the services said that their trust in medical advice has increased, 92% of medical and nursing staff rated donations as “important” or “very important”, and 92% of local authorities believe that the program has a great meaning. positive impact on local communities. In addition, 69% of those who used the services said they felt safer living in remote areas.

The program, which has been implemented since 2014 in partnership with the City of Barren Line Fertile, a non-profit company, has to date enabled more than 833,000 permanent residents of the 70 Greek islands to gain equal access to healthcare services, strengthening 74 structures on the island country with 242,504 medical units. equipment. At the same time, the program almost multiplied its investment by a factor of ten, as it generated a multiplier value of 9.62: for every €1 invested in the program, the value returned to society was €9.62.

Cause in the local community

The benefits of the program were pointed out by the representatives of the local community themselves, who spoke during the presentation of the Social Impact Study in Iraklia. They described the conditions experienced by residents and medical staff during the winter months, when coastal ferry service to islands with secondary health care is reduced, and also spoke about the features of the work of multifunctional regional clinics of small islands, where there is no possibility of imaging tests or laboratory checks, as a result which patients have to be transferred to other structures, far from their place of residence. And at the same time, they explained the importance of a correct, timely and reliable diagnosis achieved with the right equipment provided by the Together for Health program, as in the typical case of Oinuss, where several transfers were prevented due to the correct measurement of the needs of the local community. “In the event of an emergency, a helicopter should arrive on the island. Life on the island is difficult,” emphasized Dimitris Gavalas, President of the Community of Heraklion, while Dimitris Lianos, Mayor of Naxos and the Lesser Cyclades, spoke about the relationship that develops in the context of Alpha Bank’s long-standing activity in the field of healthcare. sector: “These initiatives they show the love and efforts of the agencies for cooperation and proposals. It makes sense to develop relationships that last over time. Permanent residents, seeing this offer, also get an incentive to stay on the islands.”

As part of the program, traditional equipment, as well as the most modern systems and devices, are donated to medical institutions from one end of Greece to the other. With speed and efficiency, without delays and delays. “Alfa-Bank provided us with a portable incubator that, thanks to its technology, can do other things as well. Thus, when there is a newborn that needs to be transferred, we support him – until the transfer is completed – with the equipment that we have today,” said Immacolata De Maggio, Director of Corfu Pediatric Clinic General Hospital. Accordingly, Yiannis Tsanakis, Director of the Nephrology Clinic of Chania General Hospital, mentioned the purchase of a hemodialysis machine, which currently performs more than 900 hemodialysis treatments per year: “The need was fixed and we received approval without hesitation. Without a third conversation, the dialysis machine arrived to our premises and immediately earned … “.