In memory of those who lost their lives in the wildfires of July 2018 in Attica, the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation expressed its commitment to contribute to the collective effort to support the affected populations and assist in the restoration of the affected areas and their infrastructure, by implementing an emergency programme budgeted at € 5,000,000 for the upgrade of the National Health System.

Through the implementation of this programme, the Foundation aims to meet the urgent needs in the Public Health sector that are related to the handling of emergency cases. The upgrade of specialised healthcare services in response to a disaster of the magnitude of the July 2018 wildfires is crucial, given that the Health sector constitutes an established, critical link in the chain of civil protection and management of any state-of-emergency situation.

Following a thorough examination of the situation and prioritisation of major needs, as well as meetings between Foundation staff and the heads of the relevant Attica Health Services Districts, the Directors of Attica Hospitals and in collaboration with representatives of competent agencies of the Hellenic State, the Foundation decided and set in motion the following donations:

• A grant for the study and implementation of the redesign, renovation and upgrading of the Emergency Department of the General Hospital of Athens “G. Gennimatas”.
• A grant for the upgrade of the medical technology equipment of the Emergency Department (ED) and the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as well as the creation of a High Dependency Unit (HDU) at “KAT” General Hospital of Attica.
• A grant for the upgrade of the medical technology equipment of the Emergency Department of “Thriassio” General Hospital of Eleusis and the Intensive Care Unit of the Latsio Burn Centre at “Thriassio” Hospital.
• A grant for the procurement of equipment for the operation of blood donation centres and mobile blood collection units of the National Blood Donation Centre.

At the same time, the Foundation has taken the following actions, which pertain to the immediate support of our fellow citizens, as well as the restoration of infrastructure damaged by the 2018 wildfires:

• Individual medical care assistance – an initiative that has been funded by the Foundation since the end of 2018 – to support the burn victims of the July 2018 wildfires, in collaboration with the 1st Health Directorate of Attica and the Coordinating Committee of Mati Attiki Residents.
• Donation for the reconstruction of buildings and damage restoration at the “Agios Andreas Centre for the Restoration of Health Losses” of the Hellenic Army General Staff, which was completed in 2018.

“Thriasio” General Hospital of Eleusis

In March 2020, the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation launched and completed a donation to the “Thriassio” General Hospital of Eleusis, a SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus referral hospital, reinforcing with state-of-the-art medical equipment its Emergency Department (ED) and the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Latsio Burn Centre, which is an integral, instrumental part of the Hospital, so as to enhance their readiness to deal in a timely manner with to emergency situations.

Through this donation, the ED of the “Thriassio” General Hospital has been further equipped with vital signs monitors, a ventilator, portable ECG monitors, an ultrasound scanner and stretchers. The donation to the Hospital’s Latsio Burn Centre consisted in the modernisation of the ICU, following installation of a new central monitoring station for its 8 ICU beds, along with new, state-of-the-art bedside patient monitors. The ICU of the Latsio Burn Centre, operative in “Thriassio” Hospital since 2005 for the treatment of serious cases of burns and injuries, has been used during the COVID-19 health crisis for hospitalisation of intubated SARS-CoV-2 patients.

National Blood Donation Centre

In 2020 the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation, actively supporting the National Health System, completed a timely and targeted donation to the National Blood Donation Centre. This donation refers to:

• Τhe procurement of 4 van-type fully equipped vehicles, used as mobile blood collection units. The vehicles have already been incorporated into the mission schedule of the qualified staff of the National Blood Donation Centre, with the aim to meet the increased needs in blood units.
• Τhe procurement of necessary equipment for the operation of the Blood Collection Room in Egaleo, which includes necessary laboratory furniture (folding tables, blood collection chairs, IV poles, etc.). The Blood Collection Room of West Attica is the first space specially designed for blood donation in an out-of-hospital environment; it constitutes a pivotal project of the wider strategic planning for the restructuring of the National Blood Donation System. The Blood Collection Room is expected to have a crucial role in covering blood supply needs in West Attica amidst the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

• 3,939 blood donations in the Blood Collection Room in Egaleo and 65 mobile blood collection missions took place in 2020.

“We deeply thank the administration and staff of the John S. Latsis Public Benefit Foundation for the substantial contribution to the work of the National Blood Donation Centre, and for its strategic choice to support and to promote blood donation as an act of the highest humanitarian and social duty.”

Panagiotis Katsivelas

President, National Blood Donation Centre