The Delivery of the 143 Ambulances to the National Center for Emergency Care, part of the SNF’s Grant, has been Completed

More specifically, the SNF grant entails the delivery of 65 conventional ambulances, 22 mobile medical units, 6 of which cover the needs of ambulance services with specialized equipment for newborns, 26 4x4 ambulances, as well as 30 low-volume vehicles. The SNF grant also covers the vehicles’ full maintenance for a period of 8 years.

Through its grant, the SNF has also supported the digital upgrade of EKAV’s Operations Center in Attica, which receives more than 1,700,000 calls annually (EKAV 2016 data). The upgrade specifically pertains to the electronic incident management application and the ambulance telematics tracking application for 200 fast response vehicles, operating in the Attica region, thus improving the response time by 25 percent. Furthermore, the grant has supported the expansion of the Thessaloniki Center’s existing system within the Attica Operations Center.

Since 1996, the SNF has provided grants of more than $130 million for the support of health programs in Greece. The grant to EKAV follows on the heels of previous important grants which have taken place over time, such as the grant totaling more than $23 million for the procurement and installation of ten linear accelerators in seven public hospitals, the grant for the renovation of all Pediatric Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in the country, as well as the construction and complete outfitting of hostels around Greece to host families of patients. In addition, the SNF’s initiative for the establishment of the Mobile Medical Units, in collaboration with the NGO “Regeneration and Progress”, has wielded important results in providing healthcare programs to residents of islands and remote areas in Greece.

Andreas Dracopoulos, Co-President of the SNF, stated: “With the completion of the grant to EKAV, another important step is taken to ensure that all of our fellow citizens have access to modern, comprehensive and safe health services, a fundamental social need. By supporting the work of EKAV, we hope to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of patients throughout Greece, as well as to their effective and timely treatment.”

The following table lists the EKAV branches to which the 143 ambulances have been distributed.

With the completion of the grant to EKAV, the SNF turns its attention to the new grant initiative for supporting the Health sector in Greece, with a budget expected to exceed $238 million. The new grant initiative, which was announced in September 2017, is the Foundation’s second largest single gift to date, following the development of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, and includes the support of a series of infrastructure and education projects to enhance the Health sector in Greece.

For more information about the SNF’s new initiative for strengthening the Health sector in Greece, click here.