The El Rosario Clinic in Medellín received the 2021 version of the “María Cano Award… Leadership with a social sense” through its general manager, Sister Olga Lucía Zuluaga Serna; The Institution has stood out in the months of the health emergency in the city of Medellín for its contributions to the reactivation of employment by linking more than 50 collaborators with exclusive contracts to implement safe and humanized care at the peaks of the pandemic, among them urgent physicians, anesthesiologists, respiratory therapists, nursing assistants, nursing professionals, psychologist, social worker, cardiologists and internists. The guarantee of work to healthcare personnel during the emergency months, despite the reduction in income by 50%, the hiring of all collaborators was maintained, seeking financial strategies that would avoid dismissal and termination of employment contracts 1,200 people.

Continuous work on the humanization of patient and companion care, through the strategy: «Love that accompanies and service that relieves», reaching satisfaction levels of 98% of users. Acquisition of 13 high-flow equipment to guarantee the necessary oxygen support to patients and avoid intubation, deterioration of the patient and admission to the ICU, at times of greatest oxygen shortage in the capital of Antioquia. Investment of $ 93,700,000 pesos. Purchase of 10 ventilators (7 in 2020 and 3 in 2021) of respiratory assistance for the service of patients, in addition to the existing ones, to support the expansion services of intubated patients in high dependency units. Investment of $ 830,938,210 pesos.

Adaptation of a complete hospitalization floor for the expansion of emergencies that would allow guaranteeing the service for patients with other pathologies different from covid-19, allowing the attention of 100% who arrived at the clinic. In addition, the purchase of the oxygen plant as an investment for the public health of the city, generating greater supply for the entire community affected by the pandemic. Investment: $ 1,100,000,000 in equipment and $ 150,000,000 in infrastructure adjustments.

Likewise, the El Rosario Clinic received recognition from the Mayor’s Office of Medellín for the experience “Optimization in the use of medicines”, through the strategy “Medellín takes care of me: recognition of the successful experiences that take care of health during the pandemic ”, Version 2020; Also highlighting the activation of a care proposal for cancer patients, affiliated to Savia Salud, a very vulnerable population, with delays in their care in the health system, which had a great impact, reducing the time between diagnosis and optimizing the opportunity in its treatment, guaranteeing higher levels of recovery and survival. A total of 956 patients were seen in 2020.

The El Rosario Clinic is a pioneer in the initiation of vaccination against covid-19 to the community and health personnel at its El Tesoro and Centro de Medellín headquarters; work that was carried out without taking into account the profitability of this service, only thinking about the control of the pandemic, the reduction of contagion and mortality. The implementation of the follow-up program for post-covid patients in order to reduce the impact on the sequelae of this disease with the assistance of a multidisciplinary group made up of pulmonologists, respiratory therapists and physiotherapists; understanding the importance of accompaniment after recovery. A total of 362 patients are linked to the program, which constitutes a successful experience during 2020 and 2021.

The Institution made an investment of $ 1,208,079,954 pesos in the purchase of personal protection items to provide security to all employees during patient care. This made it possible to guarantee the availability of all the elements required for safe care. Organization of a specific process in the sterilization center, internationally endorsed, for decontamination of N95 masks, avoiding a possible shortage of this input, as evidenced nationally and internationally.

Link to the National Habilitation System, with 100% compliance with the regulatory requirements that allowed the El Rosario Clinic to achieve higher quality standards in service through national accreditation; as well as the creation of the Operational Manual to face the pandemic and the decisions supported by the Management for the protection of collaborators, patients, families and users, with anticipated provision of protection elements, biomedical equipment and medicines, implementation of new modalities of provision services such as telemedicine for the care of the most vulnerable patients, daily monitoring of symptoms, management established following the guidelines of evidence-based medicine that gradually improved the severity of the disease with the established treatment.

Of the total covid-positive patients treated (6,705), a reduction in in-hospital mortality was observed, from 21% in the second peak of June 2020 to 7% in August 2021. Congratulations to the Institution for be an example for the whole country.

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