The Vittore Buzzi hospital is the only paediatric hospital in Lombardy and is one of the oldest in the country. Soon it will also be the first to eliminate X ray radiation, thanks to the Tesla 3 Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine donated by Enel Cuore, our Group’s non-profit organisation. The machine will help to make the new hospital wing even more child-friendly. The Nuovo e Grande Buzzi is, in actual fact, a special building for emergency and urgent treatment spanning seven floors and 10 thousand square metres. It is due to open in 2022 and will be connected to the current hospital.
“Our dream is to have a hospital that’s open to the world and the future, a hospital for everyone. A cutting-edge hospital where diagnostic examinations are risk-free and the utmost professionalism is provided with a personal touch and a holistic vision of the patient,” announced the President of the Buzzi Foundation, Stefano Simontacchi at the presentation of the project on 13 February at the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology in Milan.
The new paediatric magnetic resonance imaging machine donated by Enel Cuore will be installed this year and will provide more rapid and accurate examinations. “It is a state of the art device that does not expose the patient to any type of radiation and facilitates the diagnostic examination, in an accurate and rapid way, of various areas of the body, thereby reducing the duration of the sedation,” explained Enel’s President Patrizia Grieco, who is also a member of the Foundation’s Honorary Committee, while speaking at the presentation event.
This occasion also saw the Buzzi Foundation launch the campaign #AssenzaDiGravità (free from gravity) with the aim of raising funds to make the hospital an international paediatric hub that is open to everyone. The new structure will be equipped with cutting-edge technology, a robotic surgery and diagnosis section that is completely free from X-rays, while the spaces will be made as welcoming as possible, both for the young patients and their parents. The goal is to double the current capacity, passing from 23 thousand to 46 thousand admissions, and from 5 thousand to 10 thousand surgical operations, each year.
Nor is the magnetic resonance imaging machine the only gift the hospital has received. The equipment for two operating theatres has been donated by the law firm Bonelli Eredi and UBI Banca and two paediatric intensive care beds have been funded, thanks to a donation from Acone Associati, an advertising agency.
The press conference also saw the presentation of the members of the Foundation’s Honorary Committee which will support the fundraising campaign. In addition to Patrizio Grieco, the committee’s members include Urbano Cairo, President of Cairo Communication and RCS MediaGroup, Manuela Vicari Acone of Acone Associati, Kelly Russell Catella, Managing Director, Marketing, CSR & Investor Relations COIMA SGR, Lina Sotis, a journalist with Corriere della Sera, Italy’s leading national newspaper, and Salvatore Veca, Honorary President of the Feltrinelli Foundation.
Creating the conditions to foster the development and growth of children who either suffer or live in disadvantaged situations is one of the main guidelines of our non-profit organisation. Indeed, Enel Cuore’s collaboration with the Buzzi Foundation is not the first time the organisation has made a tangible contribution to improving healthcare facilities for children. Previously Enel Cuore supported the campaign “Ospedale senza dolore” (Pain-free hospital) promoted by the Bambino Gesù Foundation, thanks to which a multi-layer CAT scanner was purchased and installed to look like a spaceship inside the hospital location in Palidoro (near Rome). This reduced the need for anaesthetics and minimised the anxiety and stress levels for both children and their parents.