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Santiago, Chile
Project C.H.E.E.R.
Project C.H.E.E.R. is an effort to better
the quality of life of patients and children at risk.
Overburdened staff, limited human and financial
resources and often the uninspiring physical surroundings
of hospitals, drug rehabilitation centers and juvenile correctional
centers limit treatment to the most basic available. A team
of Project C.H.E.E.R. volunteers, which include medical
and health professionals, implement laughter, personalized
doctor-patient relationship, natural surroundings and a
joy of living, combined with Christian counseling, and a
holistic approach confront sicknesses of all types.
Programs of Project C.H.E.E.R. include:
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Intensive Care Unit in
Children's Hospital
Project Cheer, working together with other American organizations, facilitated
the donation of equipment to set up an intensive care unit in the Children's
Hospital, Roberto Del Rio.
  Roberto
Del Rio Hospital is a public hospital, founded in 1939, serving the whole
country of 15 million people by referrals from primary care physicians.
It performs 5,600 major surgeries per year with a 4-5 day average hospital
stay. It is the National Agency for Cardio services doing 200 complex
cardio surgeries per year, which will increase to 500 with this project.
This 14-bed unit, with equipment valued at over $ 3 M, is a tremendous
boost to the cardiology department of the children’s hospital as
they do a large percentage of the surgery for congenital and acquired
heart disease in children here in Chile. The project portends to lower
the infant mortality rate in Chile from 10 per 1000 to 9 per 1000, largely
due to the addition of state-of-the-art equipment being made available,
as well as staff training by professional medical volunteers from Stanford
University Hospital. Said another way, this ICU will save over 100 lives
per year and allow 300 – 500 more surgeries to little heart patients
as well as other pathologies needing urgent and/or serious interventions.
An entire floor of the hospital was renovated in preparation for the
installation of the state of the art medical equipment, including heart
monitors, central stations, intensive care beds, incubators, neonatal
vents and accessories.
In the winter months, Santiago is very contaminated. When the children,
especially those from low-income families, get sick, it usually quickly
progresses to bronchitis or other serious respiratory complications. The
intensive care facilities, and hospitals beds in general, fill up with
these patients and there is no possibility for operations for children
with congenital or acquired heart diseases or other serious pathologies
needing urgent intervention for that matter.
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