Tecpetrol donated nine defibrillators to different institutions in Comodoro Rivadavia and Rada Tilly. Luis Baum, the Lead Supervisor at Community Relations (CORE), tells just how much "it fills us with pride!"

Although it seems like it happened ages ago, the effects of COVID-19 are still being felt. Recent studies reveal that a large percentage of those who were infected, perhaps as much as 70 percent, could present some kind of cardiovascular complication, specifically in the myocardium, known as myocarditis.

After the pandemic, the CORE team began to search for Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs). “Earlier this year, we purchased nine of these devices, which are very much in demand. We held several meetings and attended presentations by professionals from the medical community to help us understand how necessary it was for certain institutions to adopt them,” begins Luis Baum, the Lead Supervisor at the Community Relations department. “It turned out that many places really needed them.”

The end of the pandemic and the different scenarios it left prompted Tecpetrol to focus its efforts on helping prevent pathologies associated with cardiovascular conditions, such as acute myocardial infarctions. The premise was clear: “Providing communities with defibrillators undoubtedly has a major impact. We believe that placing these in key locations where there tend to be high concentrations of people, whether for recreational reasons or those linked to public assistance, makes a great contribution to public health in our localities.”

"Accordingly, we delivered these devices to educational, recreational, and public health entities, as well as firefighter stations, focusing on those institutions attended by large numbers of people. These were provincial schools No. 7715 Dr. Nestor Kirchner and No. 7702 in the Don Bosco neighborhood; the central headquarters of the Volunteer Firefighters’ Brigade; the Presidente Ortiz Health Center and the San Martín neighborhood Center, as well as the Exhibition Center and Cultural Center. Also included were the Dr. René Favaloro Health Clinic and Municipal Gymnasium which are both in Rada Tilly.”

A defibrillator is not by any means a simple instrument to operate, because of the sheer amount of electricity involved. For this reason, the exercise to deliver the devices included a training component. Ensuring synergy between Tecpetrol and the beneficiary public institutions was extremely important and the training courses were prepared through the Municipality Health Secretariat in Comodoro Rivadavia, whose doctors trained those in charge of receiving and handling the defibrillators.

The AEDs are currently located in strategic locations in Comodoro Rivadavia and Rada Tilly, and are of critical importance as they can save a person's life until professional care arrives, thus reducing the effects of an injury or emergency. Federico Corbalán, HRBP Manager, explained that, “it’s very important for us to be able to cooperate through actions like these, reinforcing public health care in different institutions. We’re grateful to the Comodoro community for allowing us to accompany them as always.”

Luis summarizes that “we’re extremely happy with the outcome. It’s good to know that you can truly make a difference, and that this device will be available at the institutions to help with prevention. The people there are happy, this is what they wanted and now they can rest assured that they have these devices to hand in case of emergency. For us, knowing that the defibrillators are there is also a big relief.”