Petr Aven’s charity fund Generation and Rietumu Bank Charity Fund have been long-time supporters of the Children’s Clinical University Hospital, and this year they have once again stepped forward to help the hospital when their help was needed the most. The new-generation echocardiographer will replace the worn-out and technologically obsolete equipment the hospital has been using by now, ensuring quality, modern diagnostic services at the hospital.
Dr. Valsts Ozoliņš, head of the Children’s Clinical University Hospital’s Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery Clinic, explains: “Approximately 1% of children born in Latvia have a congenital cardiovascular disease, which is one of the main reasons for child mortality. Quality echocardiographic examinations for pregnant women help timely select the most appropriate therapy and care for children with congenital cardiovascular diseases. The donation by the two charity funds is very important as it will enable echocardiography examinations to be performed at a very high level in Children’s Hospital.”
The Children’s Hospital is the only healthcare institution in Latvia that provides treatment for children with congenital heart diseases. Every year, cardiologists at the Children’s Hospital perform around 6,000 echocardiographic examinations. The new echocardiographer costs EUR 124,995.03 (including VAT).
The second piece of equipment, which has relieved nurses’ work very much once it was set up in the Children’s Hospital, is a parenteral nutrition mixer donated by the two funds. “Although parenteral mixtures are needed for about 25 children on a daily basis – which may not seem too much – preparing the mixtures used to be a physically demanding and complicated process,” explains Sandra Skutele, head of the Children’s Hospital Pharmacy. “In order to manually prepare parenteral mixture, and that is how it was done until now, nurses had to carry substances in syringes from vials to IV bags for several hours on end, after which they often complained about numbness in fingers and joint and back pains. Now the equipment does the hardest work – nurses and their assistants only have to measure out the necessary ingredients and materials.” Now, once everything is set up, preparing one bag takes just 15 minutes. That is about 4 times faster than manual preparation.
“We have been cooperating with the Children’s Hospital for many years – we started out by renovation of the hospital’s wards, an urgent necessity, later we helped the hospital acquire modern equipment. I am pleased that this time, together with Petr Aven’s charity fund, we have given the hospital equipment that is important for the treatment and health of children. We all know well that timely, quality examinations are key to administering effective treatment, and that is why the equipment enabling such examinations is of very great importance. In addition, we have to think of ways to make nurses’ work less wearing and give them opportunity to devote more attention to the smallest of patients,” says Rietumu Bank Charity Fund’s Board Chairwoman Inga Shina.
The parenteral nutrition mixer cost EUR 65,019.76 (with VAT).
“After the Children’s Hospital sought our help in purchasing the equipment it needed for children’s treatment, we and Rietumu Bank Charity Fund looked at our options and promptly decided to help the hospital. Support for pediatric nursing is one of our fund’s priorities, we have been supporting the Children’s Hospital for many years by helping it buy the necessary equipment and implement different projects. We are happy to see the Children’s Hospital develop and we have a high opinion of professionals working at the hospital, who have dedicated their lives to care for children. On our part, we will continue to support the hospital in the development of the most modern healthcare services in Latvia,” says Igor Bass, head of Petr Aven’s charity fund Generation.
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