OMV Petrom grants EUR 10mn sponsorship to the first specialized Pediatric Oncology Hospital in Romania

OMV Petrom grants EUR 10mn sponsorship to the ‘Daruieste Viata’ Association project for the construction of the first Pediatric Oncology and Radiotherapy Hospital in Romania.

Of the EUR 10mn, EUR 5mn will be used to purchase the medical equipment necessary to diagnose and treat childhood cancer: a radiotherapy device, a CT (computer-tomography) machine and equipment for the operating area as well as training of the medical and auxiliary staff of the hospital. The other EUR 5mn will be used for electrical and sanitary installations and interior design works.

Last year, in OMV and Petrom filling stations all over the country, more than EUR 50,000 was collected via donations from customers. The campaign will continue over the next two years so that anyone who walks into OMV and Petrom filling stations can contribute to the finalization of the hospital.

“We, as OMV Petrom, are very proud to support the construction of the first pediatric oncology hospital in Romania. Every child deserves a chance in life and I was truly moved to see so many Romanians supporting the hospital cause with individual donations. There are causes that may seem impossible to accomplish and it takes a lot of courage to get started. However, when they are important to a great number of people, they can come true,” said Christina Verchere, CEO OMV Petrom.

“We started this project from zero, but with confidence that the Romanians are able to take lives into their own hands and build a hospital for children suffering from cancer. We’ve built this project brick by brick, thanks to the extraordinary support of people who sent SMS’s and donated online, as well as to the companies that sponsored us. Every contribution, no matter how small, has helped us move forward and reach this moment in which we can get this massive support from OMV Petrom. It is certainly the largest sponsorship received by ‘Daruieste Viata’ for the Pediatric Oncology Hospital and it helps us finalize the project within the planned schedule,” Carmen Uscatu, cofounder ‘Daruieste Viata’ Association, mentioned.

“OMV Petrom’s decision is a real chance for children with cancer in Romania and their families and a confirmation of the investment made by each of our donors and our sponsors. It is a proof of solidarity and of how strong we can all be if we stand together, however big and small. We wish other companies or private donors follow the example given by OMV Petrom, just like OMV Petrom followed the example of hundreds of thousands of Romanians and many other companies,” cofounder Oana Gheorghiu, ‘Daruieste Viata’ Association, added.

 

About the first Pediatric Oncology Hospital in Romania

The Oncology and Pediatric Radiotherapy Hospital will be the first hospital specialized in pediatric oncology in Romania and will function within Marie Curie Hospital in Bucharest. Patients will have access to all the pediatric specialties required for the holistic treatment of children with cancer (surgery, orthopedics, cardiology, neurosurgery, ENT, etc.). The new hospital will be able to treat more than 300 children with cancer each year, as well as to perform over 9,600 oncological and non-oncological surgeries.

‘Daruieste Viata’ Association started the hospital construction project in 2017, relying on private funds (private and corporate donations). The construction works began in 2018. The project will continue with the utilities, interior design works as well as the acquisition of special equipment and staff training.

The hospital will have 6 floors and a total area of 12,000 square meters with a new operating area with 7 surgery rooms and dedicated departments: surgery, neurosurgery, oncology, hemato-oncology and intensive care. ‘Daruieste Viata’ Association aims to inaugurate the hospital in 2020. It will function as a public hospital within the Marie Curie Hospital, but at Western Europe high standards in terms of administrative and medical procedures.

It is estimated that in Romania, 5,000 children are suffering from cancer and that each year 500 other children are diagnosed with this disease. More than half of them are treated in Bucharest, in the two existing centres (Marie Curie and IOB), which cannot fully meet the needs.

 

OMV Petrom – involvement in health

Over the past ten years, OMV Petrom has taken an important role in supporting health initiatives.

In 2011, through OMV Petrom’s social responsibility project ‘Access to life’, OMV Petrom supported the expansion of the emergency telemedicine network in 16 hospitals in the country, with the coordination centre at the Floreasca Emergency Hospital in Bucharest, providing access for 9.5 million Romanians to emergency medical services. The same project has contributed to the training of Romanian doctors through specialized courses in emergency medicine at European level.

In 2012, the company provided the SMURD Foundation with 3 fully-equipped ambulances.

Between 2014 and 2016, OMV Petrom in partnership with ExxonMobil, supported the design and construction of the SMURD Aeromedical Base in Constanta, the most modern unit of its kind in the country. The base has increased the capacity and efficiency of emergency operations of the SMURD Constanta in the entire South-East region of Romania.

In 2017, OMV Petrom supported the SMURD Foundation by acquiring the first neonatal transport incubator for the Emergency Unit of SMURD Constanta, suitable for both helicopter transport and SMURD ambulances.

 

About ‘Daruieste Viata’ Association

More than 30,000 chances to life were given to cancer patients in Romania, both children and adults, through the efforts and projects of ‘Daruieste Viata’ Association, carried out during the eight years of activity. ‘Daruieste Viata’ has pushed Romania 25 years forward in the field of haemato-oncology, through its projects, carried out as follows:

• Creation of the First Centre of Excellence in Cancer Treatment in Children (through the campaign Do not ignore me, in 2011);
• 2 New Transplant Centres opened in Bucharest (1 for children – Fundeni Clinical Institute, 1 for adults – University Hospital);
• 2 Enlarged & Upgraded Transplant Centres (1 for children – Louis Turcanu Emergency Clinical Hospital, Timisoara, 1 for adults – Fundeni Clinical Institute, Bucharest);
• The construction of 18 sterile transplant rooms led to the tripling of Romania’s transplant capacity;
• More than 720 medullary transplants have already been carried out in the centres built and upgraded by ‘Daruieste Viata’ Association;
• 2 New laboratories for in-depth diagnosis of blood cancer (1 built from scratch in Timisoara; 1 modernized and endowed at the Fundeni Clinic Institute, Bucharest);
• 1 New Radiotherapy Centre, built in Timisoara;
• Renovation of pediatric and adult oncology departments in Bucharest and Brasov and equipment of dozens of hospitals with medical equipment.

‘Daruieste Viata’ Association has invested more than 6 million euros in hospitals from Romania and has led to legislative changes that now help cancer patients to benefit quickly from treatment abroad.

The association also managed to persuade the authorities to finance procedures for the diagnosis of lymphatic cancer and oncological drugs from the state budget.

Source: OMV Petrom press release