“We can only conquer a pandemic together. The whole society has to be involved.”
Cristiana Toscano, from the International Strategic Group of Experts on Vaccines and Vaccination, WHO
2021 milestones
The most important events of the Pequeno Príncipe Complex
- Halfway through the year, 90% of employees were immunized. No team member died from the disease in 2021. Vaccination against COVID-19 was the main ally in the fight against the pandemic, with the full support of the Complex.
- Pequeno Príncipe achieved historic results in highly complex procedures. There were 284 transplants, the highest number ever achieved by the Hospital, even during the pandemic period.
- Fundraising was also a record. A total of US$ 13,821,929.40 was raised.
- Pequeno Príncipe was included in the ranking of the 150 best pediatric hospitals in the world, published by the American magazine Newsweek. It was the only pediatric hospital in South America awarded with this distinction.
- Through a partnership with the Society for Wildlife Research and Environmental Education (SPVS), Pequeno Príncipe neutralized its greenhouse gases emissions – it was the second health institution in Brazil (and the first pediatric hospital) to achieve this result.
- Pequeno Príncipe Hospital implemented the Telehealth Service. The technology to serve children and adolescents at a distance was first made available to SUS patients.
- Face-to-face and teleconsultation services in the Kakané Porã indigenous village began in July. The experience has been important to expand access to healthcare through telemedicine.
- The SUS Emergency Room underwent a complete renovation. The sector was expanded and gained new offices, a more comfortable waiting room, a readapted observation bed area and adapted bathrooms.
- Igualdades: Accessible and Inclusive Hospital Project, completed in July, modernized two elevators, adapted 17 rooms and bathrooms, improved the visual programming of the entire Hospital for patients with visual impairments (using large letters and writing in Braille) and brought playful games for children with disabilities.
- The Surgical Center Innovation project, also completed in 2021, installed 71 state-of-the-art equipment, with a total value of more than US$ 760,000. The highlight was a surgical microscope with fluorescence and a videoconferencing system, which allows online transmission (from the operating room to the auditorium) and thus expands the resources for professional training.
- Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy, a state-of-the-art technology that temporarily replaces the function of the heart and lungs, began to be applied after a phase of testing. The procedure had its first success in Pequeno Príncipe by allowing the recovery of a 5-month-old baby.
- The Computerized Gait Laboratory was implemented, the only one in Paraná intended for clinical evaluations of patients with motor difficulties.
- Pequeno Príncipe Hospital maintained, for the third consecutive year, the level 3 of the National Accreditation Organization (ONA), the highest level of the main certifier of the quality of hospitals in Brazil.
- The Pelé Pequeno Príncipe Research Institute has intensified 13 projects that seek to better understand and fight COVID-19, including the one aimed at creating a serum with antibodies against the disease – the first tests have already started.
- The academic output of the Research Institute has doubled in relation to the average of previous years. A total of 87 articles was published, many in top quality scientific journals.
- Pequeno Príncipe College resumed on-site classes in all courses, after the period of remote and hybrid teaching adopted as a result of the pandemic.
- The College inaugurated its Block 6. The new space now houses several sectors, including the recently created Multiprofessional Outpatient Clinic.