The Humanizing Health Award 2023 – WWN

Effective treatments are not always drugs. For patients and caregivers, a fundamental role is played by the attention they receive, the recognition of their needs and the ability to alleviate the burden of the disease. This is also possible thanks to the voluntary associations that work every day to humanize care for patients, families and caregivers with numerous projects in the area. Volunteering in Italy plays a crucial role, rooted in the territory and often reaches where the public cannot. But passion and good ideas are not enough, to make a project become a good project and work, skills and funds are needed. Once implemented, many initiatives can be replicated and investments multiplied. The social must be considered a common objective between the different health actors. The awards ceremony took place recently in Milan
Humanizing Health Award 2023 by Teva Italyfour winning projects, among the over 70 presented, will each receive a donation worth 10,000 euros.

The Humanizing Health Award born in 2015 in Spain to then become a global project and arrive in Italy in 2019. The recognition dedicated to non-profit associations and bodies committed to improving the treatment path of those suffering from serious pathologies, an important role played by all company collaborators who are called upon to select the projects every year.

The four award-winning associations Associazione Sogni Onlus, with the Don’t stop dreaming project, thanks to a network built over the years, being able to make the dreams of young patients suffering from serious pathologies come true by organizing days in the company of their favorites or even organizing a beach holiday. Baby You APS with the Hospitality project which welcomes and supports families who turn to the specialized centers in Bologna for the treatment of serious pediatric pathologies throughout their hospitalization through recreational activities for the children and support for the parents. ANT Italia Onlus Foundation with the ANT project for the caregiver: a love story provides free specialist medical assistance at the home of cancer patients at no cost to the families and offers support through a global approach and attention to the quality of life of the family unit. Vidas ODV with the Casa Sollievo Bimbi project, the first pediatric hospice in Lombardy, thanks to the intervention of socio-health teams specialized in pediatric palliative care supported by volunteers, in which children and young people are welcomed together with their parents and siblings in 6 mini-apartments, equipped like a home and accessible to family members 24 hours a day.

To guarantee continuity of care and offer patients the necessary support during the illness – explains Annarosa Racca, President of Federfarma Lombardia – it is important to guarantee maximum integration and synergy between the associations operating in the healthcare sector and the local structures, consolidating the role of pharmacies as providers of essential services in the treatment of chronic conditions. The latter is an activity that contributes to the well-being of the community and the quality of life of people. We work with passion to produce high quality medicines, capable of improving people’s lives – comments Umberto Camberiati, President and CEO of Teva Italia -. We are aware that patient care goes beyond pharmacological therapy, and requires a more holistic approach, which includes psychological, emotional and relational support for the person. With this recognition, now in its 4th edition and which sees a growing number of nominations every year, we reward the work of some of the many associations that support patients and their families in the treatment process every day, adding that human component of sensitivity that it allows them to deal with the difficult experience of the disease in a better way.