Andes Salud and Desafío Levantemos Chile inaugurate permanent mobile clinic in the Santa Juana commune

• The initiative will last six months and aims to provide home health care to more than 5,000 patients affected by the forest fires.

04 de abril, 2023. The forest fires in the commune of Santa Juana devastated 50,550 hectares, along with the only establishments in the area. and Paso Hondo health centers. For this reason, Andes Salud together with the support of Desafío Levantemos Chile wanted to contribute and respond to the health needs of the community, starting the operation of the first Mobile Clinic in the commune, which aims to provide care to more than 5,000 patients within six months, being a direct support to achieve the continuity of medical care to families affected by the fires.

According to data from the Rural Medical Station of the commune, there are more than 680 registered patients with pathologies such as diabetes, hypothyroidism, osteoarthritis of the hips, chronic respiratory diseases, hypertension, dyslipidemia, among others. Due to the lack of infrastructure, caused by the fires, they have not been able to receive their check-ups or basic health care in a normal way. 

“For us as Andes Salud, it is part of our purpose to bring health closer to the community and today, together with Desafío Levantemos Chile, we wanted to go further and collaborate with one of the communities most affected by the fires. In Santa Juana 71% of the commune was devastated by the fire, and with the opening of this first mobile clinic after the emergency, we want to be present to contribute to the resolution of the health needs of the community. We will carry out health check-ups, vaccinations, examinations, among other services, while the reconstruction work is being carried out”, commented Gonzalo Grebe, general manager of Andes Salud.

The Mobile Clinic, will depend on and will be supervised by the technical team of the Paso Hondo Rural Medical Station and administered by the Health Corporation of the Municipality of Santa Juana. This will allow that, while the reconstruction process of the Hospital and the Colico Alto Post Office begins, the neighbors can be attended in an optimal and efficient way. 

The mayor of Santa Juana, Ana Albornoz, expressed her gratitude for the event and said that “the impact of the mobile clinic on the population is enormous. We have 4,552 people directly affected in their means of production or in their homes, we see that 70% of the population is completely affected and there are many people who cannot leave their places to receive health care. We have connectivity problems, which we already had before, so being able to count on a team, which is also conditioned with rural relevance, with health personnel and even a driver, makes it possible for us to reach the necessary attention that the community needs”. 

The Minister of Health, Ximena Aguilera, emphasized the importance of public-private collaboration and declared that “we are happy to be here at the inauguration of the Andes Salud mobile clinic together with Desafío Levantemos Chile. Assuming the commitments that as a ministry we made with the municipality of Santa Juana, and also in the coordination we have with the foundation for the reconstruction of the Paso Hondo Rural Medical Station. This is an example of great collaborative work and for us it is a good sign of what the health system can do, both us as a ministry in strengthening the public network, as well as working together for the benefit of the neighbors affected by the fires, while the new station is being built”. 

For the operation of the Mobile Clinic, a nurse and a driver will make daily rounds of home care to patients who require it. They are mainly focused on child and adolescent control, cardiovascular health control and preventive medicine, admissions and blood pressure controls, vaccinations, advanced and simple cures, complementary feeding for the elderly and delivery of drugs.

Ingrid Guzmán, TENS at the Paso Hondo Rural Clinic which was damaged, commented “this Mobile Clinic is a light for us, as it will facilitate and improve conditions, above all for our users and also as health officials”. He added that “70% of the patients we treat are older adults, while the other 30% are young adults and adolescents”. 

The Health Director of Desafío Levantemos Chile, Bárbara Leyton, added that “we are very happy to be able to count on the support of Andes Salud in this initiative. As a Directorate we are committed to the residents of Santa Juana, who need us more than ever and who require comprehensive care in the place where they live. This mobile clinic gives us the possibility of reaching them quickly and efficiently, especially children and the elderly. As a foundation, we will continue to promote this type of project in the region, giving back to the communities affected by the fires the health care they need and deserve”.