Project HOPE and Boeing Team Up to Boost Maternal and Newborn Care in Hungary

MILLWOOD, Va., Sept. 13, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Project HOPE and Boeing are teaming up to significantly improve pediatric, neonatal and maternity care in Papa, Hungary, through the expansion of a program that has already made strides in fighting respiratory diseases.

Boeing, as part of its long-term corporate citizenship efforts in the Central and East European region, has donated $35,000 worth of advanced medical equipment to the Earl Esterházy Hospital in Pápa. In addition to the equipment, the initiative includes a workshop led by Project HOPE to teach health professionals techniques such as resuscitation and the support for the welfare of babies at birth, as well as how to use the new apparatus to improve services for women and their infants.

"We are proud of our partnership with Project HOPE and are delighted to support this fantastic charity make a tangible difference to the lives of infants and mothers in this region of Hungary " said Stanley Prusinski, Director, Global Sales and Marketing, Central & Eastern Europe for Boeing Defense, Space & Security.

"By investing in a sustainable program of education for health care professionals we know that this initiative will create a lasting legacy that will not just benefit the patients of today, but will multiply its success in the local community for years to come," added Prusinski.

The donated medical equipment includes radiant warmers, pediatric and delivery beds, syringe pumps, diagnostic lights, phototherapy lamp, transport incubator and resuscitation training mannequin. The medical devices are to be installed in the pediatric ward, delivery rooms and nursery unit to improve health services for mothers and newborns and decrease neonatal and maternal mortality and morbidity attributable to childbirth in Papa.

These initiatives are part of a longer term program named "Improving Maternal and Newborn Care in Papa, Hungary" organized by Project HOPE and financially supported by Boeing. The program is building the capacity of the Papa regional health system to provide higher quality maternal and newborn care and includes two main components: training and equipment. The program equips health professionals with new knowledge and skills. It is targeted at obstetricians, midwives, general physicians, pediatricians, pediatric nurses and health visitors from the Papa region. Donations of new medical equipment will also ensure that the delivery and newborn units at the Earl Esterhazy Hospital in Papa boast state of the art machinery.

"The major focus of ongoing program is to support the Earl Esterhazy Hospital with new equipment that will help care for newborns and mothers. Although Hungarian health care providers have appropriate formal medical education, there are not many opportunities for them to get up to speed on the latest international techniques in evidence-based medicine or to acquire new skills and knowledge," said Dorota Kuchna, Country Director for Project HOPE Poland.

"We are proud of our long-term partnership with Boeing in supporting different aspects of maternal and newborn health in the Papa region. Thanks to Boeing's generous support, improvements in technology and education at the Papa hospital will benefit all patients," Ms. Kuchna said.

In 2012, Boeing supported the launch of the Project HOPE Pediatric Medical Exchange partnership program for the needs of the Earl Esterhazy Hospital in Papa.

The first two phases of the program helped improve management of respiratory diseases in children and cut the levels of the disease's burden in the region. The third phase was targeted at health visitors who care for newborns and their mothers, right from early pregnancy to birth and pre-kindergarten childcare. The program also focused on pediatricians, general practitioners and primary care nurses involved in mother and child care for out-patients.

The current phase of the program "Improving Maternal and Newborn Care in Papa, Hungary" is part of a three-year project and is targeted at building the capacity of the Papa regional health system to provide higher quality maternal and newborn care. So far Project HOPE, with Boeing's support, has trained more than 350 medical professionals over four years in different aspects of neonatal, pediatric and maternal care, funded by grants valued at more than $210,000, or more than 58,000,000 Hungarian Forints.

About Project HOPE

Founded in 1958, Project HOPE (Health Opportunities for People Everywhere) is dedicated to providing lasting solutions to health problems with the mission of helping people to help themselves. Identifiable to many by the SS Hope, the world's first peacetime hospital ship, Project HOPE now provides medical training and health education, as well as conducts humanitarian assistance programs in more than 35 countries. Project HOPE in Central and Eastern Europe has trained over nine thousand health workers, organized more than 600 fellowships and trained 3,500 health care managers in management. Visit our website projecthope.org or follow us on Twitter @projecthopeorg.

About Boeing

Boeing is the world's leading aerospace company and the largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft combined, supporting more than 6,500 jobs in Central and Eastern Europe. Boeing also supports several Corporate Citizenship initiatives in education, civic engagement, health and human services and the environment in the wider region, including Bator Tabor "Camp of Courage" in Hungary, Poland Business Week and workshops at the Copernicus Science Center in Warsaw. For more information visit www.boeing.com