A recent clinical case and a small humanization initiative tell the path taken by the “Renato Dulbecco” University Hospital of Catanzaro: clinical quality, collaboration and attention to the little ones.
Ecmo rescue
It is the story of the little G., who arrived one summer evening at the Emergency Department of the Pugliese Poglio Ciaccio for a very serious asthma attack. The conditions of the child immediately appeared critical: despite the timeliness of the care and the maximization of pharmacological therapies, the picture did not improve. It was necessary to resort to intubation, mechanical ventilation and hospitalization in intensive care.
Thus began a long night that saw medical resuscitation, pediatrics and pediatric surgery work side by side. Once the very high risk of mortality was evaluated, the support of the IRCCS Institute Giannina Gaslini of Genoa was asked, with which the “Dulbecco” Aou started a structured collaboration.
Dr. Andrea Moscatelli, director of the neonatal and pediatric intensive care and of the Emergency Department of the Gaslini, led the management of the case at a distance until the intervention of the Ecmo team, transported to Calabria by the Air Force thanks to the coordination of the Prefecture of Catanzaro. The team reached the Lamezia Terme hospital, stabilized the child and moved it to Genoa.
Thanks to the Ecmo VV extracorporeal circulation system, G.’s lungs were able to “rest” and the child was transferred to Gaslini safely, where, after 72 hours, he was weaned by the Ecmo, then by mechanical ventilation, up to the resignation in excellent general conditions.
A story that testifies to the strength of clinical networks and the value of the collaboration between health institutions and state forces, starting from the Air Force that manages saving flights.
The car for children
“Next to the high complexity stories, the Aou” Dulbecco “also takes care of the small daily gestures that make the hospital more welcoming. For a few days, in pediatric surgery, the children who have to face an intervention can climb an electric cars that accompanies them to the operating room.
A simple but precious initiative, which reduces anxiety and makes the detachment of the parents less traumatic, a concrete sign of the commitment of the management in filling the gap with the best Italian pediatric realities “.
A single message
From the rescue of the small G. to the cars that tears smiles before an intervention, the guiding thread is clear: humanization of care is not an abstract concept, but a value that translates into organization, innovation and attention to people.