23
March
2021
|
19:15
Europe/Amsterdam

Covid-19: #OnTheGround

Summary

Facts, figures, testimonials from the Ground.

In this video series, Medical Directors from the countries we operate talk about the Covid-19 situation and about the vaccination campaign in their own country. Then they talk about how our local teams handle to support patients ill with Covid-19, and to proceed to sanitary evacuation and repatriations in the best possible conditions. #CareNeverStops

"Since the start of the pandemic, Europ Assistance physicians and health care professionals have been constantly engaged in the battle against COVID-19 all over the 200 countries where we operate, through all the medical services provided by Europ Assistance over the world: medical evacuation, teleconsultation, second medical opinion, etc. allying excellence in healing with precise logistics. They demonstrate every day that they can adapt and continue to deliver high-quality-care to our clients. During this challenging time, more than ever... #WeCare."

Pr. Thomas LESCOT - Chief Medical Officer at Europ Assistance Group

On The Ground #4 : Brazil

 6 May 2021 – Dr. Rodrigo Nicacio Santa Cruz is the Medical Director of Europ Assistance Brazil. Brazil is a country highly impacted by Covid-19 due to several variants present in the country : British, South African and Brazilian variants. These variants affect a population that was previously spared: young people and those with no health problems. Thus, the current situation in Brazil is critical, with saturated hospitals, although vaccination is progressing relatively well. Indeed, Brazil has two vaccines (CoronaVac and AstraZeneca), and they have been able to inject a first dose of vaccine to about 15% of the population. Their goal is to vaccinate the entire population by December.

On the ground, Europ Assistance is taking charge of transporting Covid-19 patients : "Brazil's Europ Assistance operations center is mobilized to perform inter-hospital transfer services in search of intensive care units for Covid-19 cases, including long distance aeromedical transport, with specialized providers in this specific situation". Europ Assistance Brazil has also set up a number of remote services, such as teleconsultations with doctors to avoid patients having to travel to hospitals and therefore taking risks, as well as psychological assistance during these times of lockdown, sports advice to help them stay in good health in spite of the situation, and school content for children forced to stay at home. Europ Assistance Brazil has therefore decided to help its customers in all aspects of their new daily lives, which have been disrupted by the pandemic.

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On The Ground #3 : Vaccination at the Stade de France

7 April 2021 - World Health Day special edition : Europ Assistance is strengthening the vaccination system at the Stade de France vaccination centre, which was inaugurated on April 6th  by local government authorities, the Prefecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis department and the regional health agency. The aim of this vaccination centre is to administer 10,000 doses per week, primarily to the inhabitants of Seine-Saint-Denis. Every day, Europ Assistance medical teams – composed of one doctor and five nurses each - will oversee vaccine prescriptions and injections, together with the Paris fire brigade and the Red Cross. Europ Assistance has taken charge of a vaccination line to support the acceleration of the vaccination campaign in one of the departments most affected by the third wave of the pandemic, where Europ Assistance has been present for many years and has its headquarters next to the Stade de France.

Antoine Parisi, Chief Executive Officer of the Europ Assistance Group: "Vaccinating the inhabitants of Seine-Saint-Denis, who welcome us all year round, is a natural step for our group, whose reason for being is to provide support and assistance to people in distress. I am proud of the mobilisation of my teams, and in particular the healthcare professionals who contribute to the quickest possible return to normal life for everyone".

On The Ground #2: Italy

30 March 2021 - Dr. Miguel Sohl is the Medical Director of Europ Assistance Italy. Italy was the first European country to face Covid-19 in 2020, and one year after, the situation is still very challenging. Almost all regions are in orange or red (colors given according with the severeness on pandemics and of hospital pressure). Vaccination is accelerating, with more than 10% of the population having received at least one dose, and with a government goal of 90% of the population vaccinated before year-end 2021.

On the ground, during the first wave, our Italian teams had to manage several severe Covid-19 cases and repatriations, especially with Cruisers. During the second wave, they managed to daily assist by teleconsultation the people who didn’t need hospitalization. Recently, they started a teleconsultation program on vaccination, to answer all our customers’ questions about it : "This is the main issue, and people are really requesting clear information about what are the adverse effects, what are the implication, who can do one or who can do another, and many people think that they can choose the vaccination between, AstraZeneca Moderna, and Pfizer, so we need to explain this part".

In Italy, we also support our customers through many social actions and, as part of Generali Group, through the Generali’s international extraordinary fund.

 

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On The Ground #1: United States

22 March 2021 - Dr Ian Russinoff is Medical Director at GMMI, an US-based medical company, part of the Europ Assistance Group. As of today (March 22nd), USA are the country with the world highest number of confirmed Covid-19 cases, and as a consequence the highest number of deaths caused by Covid-19. The country started the vaccination campaign by the end of year 2020, and seems to be going pretty well: about one quarter of the US population has received at least one dose of vaccine, and almost 30 million people are considered fully vaccinated. The situation seems to be going better, but some States (North East, Florida, Texas...) keep on facing a rise in the number of cases.

On the Ground, our local entities have spent more than one year to improve the way critically-ill patients can be repatriated, closer from their home: "Previously, when this first started, it was nearly impossible to repatriate critically-ill patients to a better situation, to their home situation. But as time has progressed and it become more comfortable, we have successfully transported patients to a better situation, close to their home, to a safer environment. So we've come a long way with managing, living with Covid, and treating more patients with Covid. And here at GMMI we remain committed and steadfast in our efforts to give our patients the best quality of care."

 

 

More information here:

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