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COVID-19 RESPONSE IN CALABRIA

Italy - Calabria

Running the ‘Covid-2’ ward at San Giovanni di Dio Hospital in Crotone

In mid-February 2021, our medical activity at San Giovanni di Dio Hospital came to an end.

The intervention in Calabria began in November 2020. We stepped forward to help with the COVID-19 epidemic in the region by responding to the government’s plea, and by coordinating with the Civil Protection.

In Crotone, we aimed to increase the number of health personnel and available beds at a time when the COVID ward, already set up by the hospital and inclusive of 30 beds, was not sufficient to meet the needs of the population. Therefore, our team of doctors, nurses and logicians worked on setting up a second ward for COVID-19 sufferers at San Giovanni di Dio Hospital in Crotone.

The ward opened in early December and had 25 bed spaces. There are another eight beds ready, should the need arise, in an outdoor tent set up the by the army and the Civil Protection Department.

The ward was run by EMERGENCY in close collaboration with staff from San Giovanni di Dio Hospital.

Today it counts on a total of 55 + 8 beds to cope with COVID-19 cases.

We remain at the disposal of the Regional Commissioner and of the Civil Protection in case of further need in the near future.

"EMERGENCY has begun working in Crotone in the same spirit of exchange and cooperation that has driven us to work with health authorities in eight of Italy’s regions over the years, through our fixed and mobile clinics. We’ll be staying in Calabria as long as we’re needed and we’re ready to help out further if the local authorities think it’s necessary."

Rossella Miccio, EMERGENCY president

The medical team in the Covid-2 ward is led by Dr Paolo Grosso, and anaesthetist who was head of the emergency ward at the anaesthesia and resusciation unit at Monza Polytechnic until June 2020.

Stories from the project

From doctors and nurses to logicians and security guards: in these video portraits we’ll introduce you to some of the people from our team in Crotone.

Mimmo, doctor

Mimmo is a cardiologist. He describes the ins and outs of our work both at San Giovanni di Dio Hospital and in the wider area of the province of Crotone.

Eleonora, nurse

Eleonora has been a nurse with us since 2015. As part of the ‘Covid team’ working in Crotone, she explains how important it is that staff wear personal protective equipment on their shifts in the ward. She closely oversees them as they put on and take off the equipment, especially when they’re coming in and out of the hospital’s ‘red zone’, so as to avoid any risk of contagion.
Daniela, cardiologist
Daniela specialised in cardiology at the University of Catanzaro. He takes us through his experience fighting the virus, beginning with his work at the field hospital in Bergamo during the first wave. In his story, he stresses how important it is to keep ourselves and others safe at this historic time.
Paolo, anaesthetist
Paolo is an anaesthetist who’s worked with EMERGENCY for 20 years, alternating between missions with us and work in Italy, where he’s been head of an anaesthesia and resuscitation unit and an emergency ward. He’s been retired for a few months now, but as he himself always says, ‘A doctor is a doctor for a life’ – which is why he decided to go on helping fight Covid-19.

Matteo, nurse

From the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone to war hospitals in Afghanistan: ever since he began working with EMERGENCY in 2015, nurse Matteo has found himself in delicate medical situations and complex medical crises. Every day he puts his idea of treatment – treating people as they come – into practice, and the hospital here in Crotone is no exception.

Lorenzo, logistician

For Lorenzo, handling all the logistical ins and outs of EMERGENCY projects in Italy and the wider world is about one thing above all: letting the health workers do their thing as best they can. ‘Even when the world is in lockdown you’ve got to go on moving,’ he explains. With his experience from Sudan, Afghanistan and Italy, he plans and runs logistics for our missions and projects, including here in Crotone.
Tino, head of the prevention and protection service
As head of EMERGENCY’s prevention and protection service, Tino oversees and puts in place all processes, flows, procedures for stopping Covid-19 spreading. He makes sure that specific guide lines for containing medical risks are respected, so that all our health workers can play their part in the hospital in safety.

Polistena: quick swabs and treatment for the most vulnerable

In collaboration with the municipality of Polistena, from late November to early December one of our doctors and one of our nurses ran a free, quick antigen swab service for the most vulnerable and at-risk people living in the area.
Our clinic in Polistena is still carrying out its work too. Opened in 2013, it gives treatment to the most vulnerable people in the area.

‘No one left out’ comes to Catanzaro: support for families who the pandemic has pushed into poverty

At the end of December 2020, ‘Nobody let behind– Supporting those in need through unprecedented times’ – our project of giving out regular, free packages of basic goods (namely food and personal care products) – came to Catanzaro, to help families pushed into poverty by the recession that’s followed the pandemic.
The project, which was already running in Milan, Rome, Naples and Piacenza, is run with the help of various local associations.

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During difficult times, it is essential not to leave anyone behind. To do that, we need your help.

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