Free-of-charge medical tests for the residents of Argos Orestiko. Traveling for Health 2017 Initiative

09 November 2017

HYGEIA Group traveled to Argos Orestiko in the context of its Traveling for Health Corporate Social Responsibility initiative. A team of volunteers offered free-of-charge healthcare services to the locals on Friday 3 and Saturday 4 November.

More than 4,000 exams were performed on around 1,100 residents by volunteers from the HYGEIA Group companies. The team was made up of 31 physicians with 16 specialties, as well as another 40 volunteers, including nursing, technical and administrative staff from various HYGEIA Group companies. The medical specialties were vascular surgery, anesthesiology, radiology, gynecology, dermatology, cardiology, neurology, orthopedics, urology, ophthalmology, internal medicine, pediatrics, pulmonology, general surgery, breast surgery, plastic surgery and ENT. The diagnostic tests performed included blood tests, Pap tests, full body and vascular ultrasounds, cardiograms, heart pulsed-wave Doppler tests and eye exams.

Two very serious cases were also treated and were immediately transferred to Kastoria Hospital by a HYGEIA Group ambulance for further hospitalization.

The Traveling for Health initiative was designed with the aim of meeting the needs of residents on remote small islands or mountainous regions who do not enjoy easy access to medical services. Backed by the top medical services and cutting-edge technology of the Group medical facilities, the HYGEIA Group volunteers embark on trips to offer diagnostic tests, medical services and human care.

Many volunteer campaigns (Leipsoi & Agathonisi, Karpenisi, Karpathos, Kalavryta, Kalampaka, Leros, Tilos & Nisyros) have been completed so far, while more than 8,700 residents have been examined and some 34,100 medical and diagnostic tests have been performed.

The Mayor of Argos Orestiko, Panagiotis Kepaptoglou, warmly thanked the HYGEIA Group volunteers who visited the area, noting, “They went to extremes, converting the brand-new daycare center into a modern medical facility. It is unprecedented not only for the Municipality, but for the wider area in general. On behalf of the Municipality and all the residents, I sincerely wish to thank the HYGEIA Group CEO, Andreas Kartapanis. They are undertaking such actions and initiatives in times like these, which is something rare.”

Commenting on the initiative, HYGEIA Group CEO Andreas Kartapanis, said, “I wish to thank the Mayor and the City Council for their warm hospitality. It was with great joy that we responded to the Mayor’s invitation to offer free-of-charge medical and diagnostic services to people who cannot easily access medical care. I also wish to thank all the volunteers for their kind and heartfelt contribution to the 8th HYGEIA Group Traveling for Health initiative. Our Group’s social contribution and corporate social responsibility are evident through our actions, as well as through our participation in the UN Global Compact voluntary initiative. We recently signed on to the Global Compact, pledging to follow it and promote it continuously and consistently across all our activities. Lastly, I wish to dedicate this campaign to our late Group Chairman, Andreas Kartapanis, who passed away suddenly around this time last year.”