HYGEIA Group Goes Beyond Simple Acts of Kindness Traveling for Health 2017, Tilos & Nisyros

13 July 2017

Yet another solidarity and contribution initiative for health took place on the islands of Tilos and Nisyros on July 6-9, as part of the 7th action of the HYGEIA Group Traveling for Health Corporate Social Responsibility program.

A team of 60 volunteers made up of medical, nursing, technical and administrative staff from HYGEIA Group traveled to the two remote islands and offered free healthcare services to the local residents.

The people of Tilos and Nisyros warmly welcomed the initiative and were enthusiastic over the level of service, the friendly approach and the impeccable organization.

The exams were performed in the primary schools of the two remote islands, which very much resembled HYGEIA Group Outpatient Clinics. The Group set up the rooms accordingly on its own expenses, so the medical tests could be performed safely and quickly.

At total of 684 residents were examined and 3153 medical and diagnostic tests were performed. The exams took place in the Primary School of Livadia, Tilos on July 6-7 and the Primary School of Mandraki, Nisyros on July 8-9. They were performed by a team of 26 physicians with 16 medical specialties, including vascular surgeons, anesthesiologists, radiologists, gynecologists, dermatologists, cardiologists, neurologists, orthopedic specialists, urologists, ophthalmologists, internal medicine specialists, pediatricians, pulmonologists, general surgeons, plastic surgeons and ENT specialists. The medical exams included blood tests, ultrasounds, vascular ultrasounds, Pap tests, ECGs, heart pulsed-wave Doppler, spirometry tests and eye tests. In addition, 20 minor surgeries were performed and the doctors also made 5 house calls.

Note that a medical emergency on Tilos involving a pregnant tourist from Israel was resolved safely. The early diagnosis of a serious medical problem by the gynecologists contributed in saving her life.

HYGEIA Group also made two significant donations. It donated a Telemedicine System to the Municipality of Tilos, which was installed in the island’s Multidisciplinary Regional Clinic. The Telemedicine System transfers medical data in real time from Tilos to HYGEIA’s Outpatient Clinic. On a 24-hour basis, specialist doctors at HYGEIA monitor the vital signs of patients, such as heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, body temperature and respiratory rate. Moreover, the System allows direct communication, with image and sound, between the doctors on Tilos and the HYGEIA doctors, while it also transfers a high-resolution image of the patient to the HYGEIA consultation center, so that each individual incident may be treated accordingly. Moreover, a team of HYGEIA Group volunteers delivered 5 computers, 1 laptop and an all-in-one printer device to the Municipality of Nisyros.

The Mayor of Tilos, Ms Maria Kamma-Aliferi, warmly thanked the HYGEIA Group representatives and volunteers who visited the island. As she noted, “This was the first time we’ve had such a well-organized mission to our island; so many medical specialties and such structure. What is more, all this medical information will be recorded in the files of HYGEIA and the island’s clinic. The people of Tilos were surprised to see the primary school being converted into a small hospital. Nothing like this has ever happened before on our island and it is very important for us. You gave us such strength.”

On his part, the Mayor of Nisyros, Mr Christofis Koronaios, thanked HYGEIA for its contribution to the island residents. He further added, “It was something unprecedented for all of us. It was a great initiative by HYGEIA Group, which sent the best doctors to visit our residents, who cannot easily access medical services. The people of Nisyros have embraced this action and have expressed their satisfaction for the level of service and the organization of the initiative. If only you could come back again some day.”

Commenting on the initiative, the HYGEIA Group CEO, Mr Andreas Kartapanis, noted, “The 7th Traveling of Health initiative took place on the islands of Tilos and Nisyros. Another 6 have preceded this one and we promise to keep going. We visited people who cannot access the healthcare system easily and invited anyone diagnosed with a problem to be teated at any HYGEIA Group hospital free of charge. I would like to truly thank all the volunteers for their kind contribution. They offered their services to the island residents with a smile and much pleasure. We are rewarded by the gratitude the citizens offer us so warmheartedly, which encourages us to continue traveling solely for health.”