The Ministry of Health seeks to expand the cooperation of Cyprus with the Shriners Hospitals for Children in the USA, in order to be able to carry out operations on children with orthopedic problems within the country, in order to serve patients, both from Cyprus and from wider region of the Middle East. This was stated today by the Minister of Health Michalis Hatzipantela, in the context of a press conference, on the occasion of the presence in Cyprus of a group of doctors from the Shriners Hospitals.
The doctors of these hospitals, who specialize in the treatment of children with serious orthopedic problems and spinal deformities, are visiting Cyprus for the fortieth time, as Mr. Hadjipantela said. The Minister noted that in this first visit after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, Shriners doctors will examine 200 children, including children from surrounding countries.
Besides, for his part, the Head of the Shriners, John McCabe, underlined the desire of the hospitals to find ways to provide treatment on site, without the need to transport patients to the US. He also stated that in addition to the 200 scheduled appointments that they will examine during the current visit to Cyprus, they will also accept emergency patient visits.
The Minister of Health stated that in the 40 years that the doctors of Shriners visit Cyprus, over 16,000 children have been examined, while 4,000 children have gone to Shriners hospitals and received treatment in the US.
“This was achieved through the strong ties developed by the “Georgiou and Thelmas Paraskevaidis” foundation and the Shriners Hospitals for Children organization, which is one of the largest charitable organizations in the world, providing since 1972 the best possible medical support to children up to 18 years of age , with special orthopedic diseases and burns”, added Mr. Hatzipantela, who congratulated the foundation, the General Director Kostas Paraskevaidis, and the Medical Advisor and member of the Foundation's Board of Directors, Dr. Ioannis M. Hatziminas.
“The benefits offered by the annual visits of doctors to Cyprus for children who face serious orthopedic problems are multiple and the opportunity is given to exchange expertise and know-how between the doctors of Cyprus and America”, added Mr. Hatzipantela.
He also reminded that in 2018 a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministry of Health, the “Georgiou and Thelmas Paraskevaidis” Foundation and the Shriners Hospitals for Children, which provides for the strengthening of the cooperation of the three parties and the expansion of synergy in the fields of education and of research. “Our goal is to carry out surgical operations in Cyprus, as a point of reference for the countries of the Middle East”, underlined the Minister.
Finally, he mentioned that next Thursday, January 19, there will be a visit to the “Georgiou and Thelmas Paraskevaidis” foundation, where the area has been properly configured for the examination of the children by the team of orthopedic doctors, as well as to the Makarios Hospital and the Famagusta Hospital , with the goal of finding ways to expand the partnership.
The Shrines' intention is a global network for providing care to children, said Mr. McCabe
Shriners Hospitals have been around for 100 years and have been treating children from all over the world. For example, last year children from 170 countries were treated. “It is an honor for us to be able to do this, as the care we provide gives them hope for the future and we can see the children grow up and become good citizens,” he noted.
He said that the big geographical scope of the Shrines' activities, creates difficulties and therefore cooperation with the local Ministries of Health is necessary, so that they can provide care to the children. He thanked the Minister of Health and the Georgiou and Thelmas Paraskevaidis Foundation for their support over the years, and assured of their continued presence in Cyprus.
Answering questions from reporters later, he emphasized the importance of working with local agencies and doctors in the countries where they provide care to children, so that it is more convenient for their families and they get the best possible care.
Regarding the training of doctors by Shriners Hospitals, Mr. McCabe said that they encourage hosting doctors from all over the world at their US facilities. “There are some rules in the U.S. that don't allow all doctors to operate, but they can observe operations,” he explained, adding that Shriners doctors can train and assist in operations in other countries.
“We can provide a lot more care, to more children, if we can get that level of care in the country where the child is, and that's our goal as we move forward,” he concluded, noting that this essentially builds a global network to provide childcare.
The aim is to offer good quality services both in Cyprus and in the USA, said Dr. Hatziminas
During his greeting, the Executive Director of the George and Thelmas Paraskevaidis Foundation, Kostas Paraskevaidis, expressed his gratitude to the Minister of Health for the help and support. “In many ways you have practically supported us in every step and initiative of ours,” he said. “We are also looking forward to expanding this partnership,” he added, expressing his joy that the Shriners' doctors will visit Makarios Hospital and Famagusta Hospital, which may open the door to expanding the partnership in the future, he said.
On his part, the Medical Consultant and member of the Board of Directors of the Foundation, Dr. Ioannis M. Hatziminas, said that so far the collaboration with the Shrines hospitals is about remote medicine, but “we intend to have our surgeons go to America to be trained, come here with the Americans to operate and make a presence in Cyprus, which will be extended to both countries”, as he said. Mr. Hatziminas explained that the aim is to offer good quality services, regardless of whether someone can pay or not. “This requires many decisions and many actions on the part of the agencies and we hope that within a few years what we started will flourish and we will be able to offer these services to as many children as possible”, he concluded.
