Through its Faculty of Medicine, the Salesian university has invested 708,000 reais (equal to about 110,000 euro) for the renewal, expansion and provision of state-of-the-art equipment for the new headquarters of the Human Milk Bank in Araçatuba, which was opened on the afternoon of 23 December by the members of the City Council.
The event was attended by local authorities and members of UniSALESIANO management: the Rector, Fr Paulo Vendrame; the Vice-Rector for Pastoral Care, Fr Paulo Eduardo Jácomo; the Vice-Rector for Teaching, Research and Postgraduate Studies, Prof. André Ornellas; and the Administrative Vice-Rector, Vanda Aparecida Guilherme de Moura.
The new facility, the result of a collaboration between the Municipality of Araçatuba, UniSALESIANO and the Rotary Club - District 4470, offers significant progress in terms of accessibility, quality of outpatient care, visibility and organization of the workflow - from the collection and processing to the distribution of human milk. This will significantly improve the quality of the service offered, which benefits especially premature or underweight babies admitted to the neonatal intensive care wards, and which is also accompanied by a support and guidance service for new mothers on breastfeeding.
The coordinator of the Human Milk Bank, Jesiela Passarini, stressed the importance of the changes. "Today we reached the top for the Araçatuba Human Milk Bank. In 18 years of activity, we have accumulated successes such as the expansion of the team from three to ten professionals, the acquisition of modern equipment and the creation of a breastfeeding clinic, "she said.
The work of the Milk Bank has yielded significant results. According to the data collected, in the last eight years the volume of milk collected has grown by 367%, from 3,100 to 14,474 litres, while the number of donors has increased by 460%, from 1,714 to 9,600. Home visits also increased significantly, from 6,263 to 21,144, with an increase of 237%.
UniSALESIANO was instrumental in the construction of the new headquarters. For this reason, during the inauguration of the new headquarters, the Rector, Fr Paulo Vendrame, celebrated this fruitful collaboration for the benefit of the youngest children and their mothers: "This is a project that takes care of life that begins. We are very happy to participate in this project and we wish the Human Milk Bank every success".
The Mayor of Araçatuba, Dilador Borges, also stressed his gratitude: "Thank you, UniSALESIANO, and thank you, Araçatuba, for giving me the opportunity to give back to the city a little of what I have received over the years. I did my best.”
The Human Milk Bank in Araçatuba operates from Monday to Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., serving the women of the municipality free of charge. The service is connected to the Global Network of Milk Banks, which guarantees high standards of quality control and specialized training.
Monique Bueno
Source: UniSALESIANO
