In celebration of the 463rd anniversary of the city of São Paulo, CIES Global participated in an initiative of the Rua Aberta program, offering free exams to the population. The NGO, founded by physician Roberto Kikawa, is a beneficiary of Sitawi Finanças do Bem, through the socio-environmental loan mechanism.
The activity held on January 29th offered blood glucose, high blood pressure and BMI tests, essential for the early diagnosis of heart disease. There was also a debate, with the participation of Ricardo Lauricella, communication manager at CIES, who spoke about the initiative with the city's Municipal Health Department.
“Participating in yet another Rua Aberta is a great pleasure for us, especially to celebrate the 463rd anniversary of our city. We are looking for projects that are synergistic with our initiative, with a sustainable health management model for all”, explained physician Roberto Kikawa, founder of CIES, in interview for Folha de Sao Paulo.
The Center for the Integration of Education and Health (CIES) has the mission of providing specialized, humane and high-tech medical care to any community through its advanced mobile medical centers. Sitawi has already made four loans for the project, totaling R$1,400,000.
The first disbursement was in 2011, for the organization's working capital, with the objective of investing in a plan to expand the number of employees and renovate a mobile medical center. This project had a direct impact on 15,840 people in 2012. In the second loan, SITAWI supported the implementation of the Hora Certa program that CIES runs in conjunction with the city of São Paulo, setting up mobile medical centers in three areas of the city to perform various tests, such as ultrasound, colonoscopy and endoscopy. As a result, CIES expanded its service capacity and, in 2014, it already carried out around 25,000 exams per month.
In 2014, CIES received support to invest in a trailer to facilitate external actions and in the construction of a facility in Vila Nova Manchester, East Zone of São Paulo, with the aim of including a surgical clinic, a training center for nurses and a new space for storeroom, pharmacy and medical records.
At the end of last year, we carried out the fourth loan to the organization, which aims to implement the Preventive Medical Program (PMP), aiming to strengthen the pillar of disease prevention, especially cardiovascular risk of patients.
“In an organization like CIES, which exponentially increases the number of specialized medical services provided by mobile health units, the financing provided by Sitawi is crucial for millions of people to receive quality care and to reduce waiting times for exams and surgeries in the SUS. With the loan, we were able to set up a clinic in Vila Carrão and, in 2015, we performed 657,000 exams, consultations and surgeries.”
Roberto Kikawa, founding physician of CIES Global
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