The charity campaign “Help save a life!” organized by the Colonna Charity Foundation in cooperation with the Maternity Ward of East-Tallinn Central Hospital raised a record amount of 90,680 euros for aiding new-borns. A 30,000-euro share was used for purchasing the LifeStart neonatal resuscitation unit for very premature babies for the Maternity Ward of East-Tallinn Central Hospital, and 45,000 euros were donated to the maternity wards of three Estonian county hospitals for purchasing CTG monitors.

The charity campaign “Help save a life!” organized at the end of 2018 aimed to raise donations for purchasing the LifeStart neonatal resuscitation unit for very premature babies for the Maternity Ward of East-Tallinn Central Hospital. The campaign became the most successful among the charity campaigns spearheaded by the Colonna real estate company so far: a total of 90,680 euros was donated to aid new-borns, which is three times more than expected. A share constituting 65,000 euros was donated to the maternity hospital by private donors and companies at the end-of-year charity gala. The private donors to have made the largest contribution during the gala were Roberto de Silverstri, founder of the Colonna Charity Foundation, the co-founder of the Colonna investment company Andrea Agostinone as well as numerous firms and guests. The rest was accumulated during the broader media campaign. By now, the LifeStart neonatal resuscitation unit for premature babies purchased with the donations raised during the charity campaign has already arrived at the Gynaecology Department of East-Tallinn Central Hospital. There was no such resuscitation unit in any maternity hospital in Estonia before, but there was a pressing need for one.

According to doctor Pille Andresson, head of the neonatology department of the Maternity Ward of the Central Hospital, the resuscitation unit, which is a mobile piece of equipment necessary for stabilising premature infants and in case of complicated delivery, can be taken to an operating room or delivery room: “The resuscitation unit is a mobile warm bedside platform with a unique ergonomic design solution, fitted with resuscitation equipment, which can be easily moved close to the mother. This allows the umbilical cord clamping to be delayed, which helps a very premature infant to adapt to life out outside the womb in a more natural way because he or she continues to receive placenta blood rich in oxygen for a while until the new-born’s lungs open and he or she begins to breathe spontaneously. At the same time, cardiovascular and respiratory stabilisation of the infant can be started immediately. Our midwives and doctors have already had the necessary training, and they are very much content with all the opportunities the resuscitation unit provides.” In addition to purchasing the resuscitation unit, the Colonna Charity Foundation will use 45,000 euros to aid the maternity wards of South Estonian Hospital, Rakvere Hospital and Kuressaare Hospital. These county hospitals will use the 15,000 euros of donations allocated to each for purchasing cardiotocographs otherwise known as electronic foetal monitors (EFM). The hospitals have a pressing need for the new monitors because the two EFMs which South Estonian Hospital has so far had at its disposal have been in use for 15 and 20 years respectively while Kuressaare Hospital and Rakvere Hospital have one EFM each, and the equipment is enduring continuous heavy operation. The surplus funds which could remain after the equipment is purchased will be allocated to further charity projects of Colonna Charity Foundation.

Roberto de Silvestri, founder of the Colonna Charity Foundation: “We are proud and happy to see that the success of the charity campaign spearheaded by Colonna is becoming more and more impressive every year and that they have helped so many new-borns. We would like to sincerely thank all the donors from Estonia and other countries. We are very glad to know that this year we will be able to aid small county hospitals in Estonia in providing obstetrics of even higher quality.”   The founder of the Colonna Charity Foundation, established in 2018, is the Colonna investment company, which has already raised over 210,000 euros for helping new-borns and premature infants in the Maternity Ward of East-Tallinn Central Hospital, Pelgulinna Maternity Hospital and various county hospitals through its charity campaigns since 2013. Previously, the funds were used for purchasing a neonatal resuscitation table, an incubator, a neonatal EEG brain monitor and cerebral oxygen monitoring equipment as well as renovating two family suites.