PEDIATRIC CENTER FOR 15,600 CHILDREN IN NEED

Dear donor, thank you very much for your donation, it is so rewarding to know that the work we are doing, with your valuable help, is resulting in the improvement of the living conditions of thousands of children in need through access to quality and timely health services

This is mainly you have helped us achieve !, your contribution is really impacting thousands of  low income families living in the deprived communities of the Punta Cana tourist destination.

This and all the reports to follow will update you on our progress and how your donation is been invested in this social initiative.

The project is located in the community of Verón and accessible to all vulnerable communities of the Punta Can region. This health center, inaugurated in 2017, provides quality primary care to more than 15,000 children (0-15 years old) belonging to low income families .  

Currently 100% of the medical services are available. The patient service hours are from 8:00am to 4:00 pm, from Monday to Friday. Emergency is available 24 hours a day 7 days a week, including weekends and holidays

Nowadays the clinic continues offering health prevention programs, outpatient consultations, ambulance, dental care, vaccination, x ray services, emergency, laboratory, nutrition program (together with UNICEF and “Sanar una Nación”), pharmacy, ultrasound, staff training program.

In the last 4 months the center served 9,864 patients  

The areas with the highest flow of patients are emergency, pediatric consultations, laboratory and vaccination.  

The most common medical cases in the last months: Respiratory infections, febrile syndrome, skin infections, injuries from external causes and gastrointestinal disorders.      

In the last months we highlight the following activities:

• Delivery of fortified foods to children living in poverty
• Community Medical Mission together with VCOM (Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine) in the last July.  During this mission 145 children from 5 vulnerable communities in the Punta Cana region benefited from consultations and medications for free
• Breastfeeding Week, in the last August, benefiting 175 mothers. Talks and workshops were held to continue raising awareness about breastfeeding and its multiple benefits for children and mothers:
  • Optimal nutrition.
  • Immunity
  • Cognitive Development:
  • Lower risk of diseases, because it reduces the risk of conditions such as asthma, obesity and diabetes in later life, in addition to reducing the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
  • For mothers, it contributes to postpartum recovery, reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, and can decrease the likelihood of osteoporosis.
  • The importance of breastfeeding during the first six months and its continuation until two years as a nutritional supplement was emphasized.

We continue implementing the Children's Reading Promotion Program, which consists of donating books to patients to stimulate imagination, creativity, recreation and the habit of reading. 

The center continues to make a difference in pediatric care and contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 agenda of the United Nations (UN), specifically Goal 3 - Health and Well-being

Please see the pictures attached to this report

There are still goals to achieve in this stage of the project:

• Expand and improve the emergency area
• Purchase the needed medical equipment and furniture:   Additional desktop computers, batteries for the portable x ray machine, additional sterilizer and vacuum cleaner for the emergency area, chairs for the emergency and vaccination areas, various types of sphygnomanometers, new seating sets for the waiting area, office chairs, shelves, oximeters, nebulizers, among others.   
• Purchase and implement a software to improve the administrative efficiency
• Expand the staff training program
• Increase the supply of medical materials and medications.

Looking forward you continue to partner with us!

In the upcoming months we will keep you updated on the progress of our project. If you have any comment, advice or question, please let us know and we will respond as best we can.

Thank you very much again for your support!

Best wishes !