Activity Report 2008

General information

The Hippocrates Center was founded in 2000, with the wholehearted help of Tony Hawks, a well-known British writer and comedian, and the support of the British philanthropic organization CRR (ChildAid to Russia and the Republics, known as ChildAid). The medico-social, rehabilitation Center Hippocrates is a non-governmental, not-for-profit, non-political organization.

The mission

The mission of our Center is to improve the quality of health of children from vulnerable families.                                    

The main objectives

1. To provide medical recovery services to children with chronic conditions by means of non-invasive, low-cost recovery methods such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, massage, electrotherapy, orthotics etc.;

2. To provide parents with educational services in regard to selection of efficient recovery and treatment methods appropriate for their child/children, and home help to him/them;

3. To develop and provide health promotional and educational leaflets for parents and caregivers of children with chronic diseases, teaching the community to be more tolerant to children with special needs.

Our beneficiaries are children from birth up to the age of 15 who have chronic neuromuscular, skeletal, cardiovascular or respiratory illnesses that have been previously diagnosed at a specialized medical institution and referred to a medical institution but witch don’t have access to rehabilitation and medico-social services.

Hippocrates Centre was accredited and received the Certificate of Accreditation N 0437 from the National Consultation for Evaluation and Accreditation in Health Care, and also received its license to practice N 023544.

Charitable organization ChildAid, Great Britain and the National Medical Insurance Company, Republic of Moldova were the main source of financing of Hippocrates Center in 2008.

Impact on beneficiaries

In 2008, in the main office of the Center hundred seventy four children have received rehabilitation services. Others 232, have received qualified services in physical therapy offices of Hippocrates Center opened at two schools and one kindergarten.

 At the "Orfeu" Complex from Chisinau, multidisciplinary medical programs of thirty children with problems of mental health have been completed by physical therapy services.

At „George Meniuc” Lyceum, a hundred and seventy four pupils participated at the lessons of medical gymnastics and studied methods of the prevention of complications of various chronic diseases.

The same for twenty eight pupils from „Alexei Mateevich” Lyceum, in the village of Pirlita, in the Ungheni region.

To summarize, free services of Hippocrates Center were received by four hundred and six children (in 2007 – four hundred and five children).

The structure of children’s conditions, Hippocrates Center, general office, 2008 

Studying the structure above it is possible to notice that the Cerebral Palsy is the main cause of locomotor problems at children. The main objective of the Hippocrates Center team is the attentive inspection, which promotes successful rehabilitation programs.

Within the programs on multifunctional rehabilitation it has been carried out 5685 physical therapy sessions (5388 in 2007), on the average 17 sessions for each child.

From hundred and seventy four children who have visited the main office, a hundred and fifty four have received combined treatment: physical therapy, massage, occupational therapy, speech therapy and orthotics.

It has been carried out 2381 sessions of medical massage (2186 in 2007).

Eighty six children have received 676 sessions of occupational therapy. 

Fifty children have received 561 speech therapy procedures.

Thus, throughout one more year of activity, the seventh, children with different heavy chronic diseases and children with special needs have got free access to the qualified rehabilitation services.   

Also, the Center has provided children from socially vulnerable families with specialized equipment:

- Orthotics – 111 pieces

- Role chairs – 5 pieces

- Other adaptations for movement – 14 pieces

- Supports for vertical positioning – 4 pieces

 10 orthopedic chairs have been customized to the specific needs of the individual child.

Collaboration with other organizations

Thanks to ChildAid and local company Efes-Vitanta Moldova Brewery IMSA we could help 18 children from socially vulnerable families to receive surgical treatment in a total sum 192711 lei (in 2007 - 97015 lei).

For acquisition of medicinal and hygienic means for 36 children have been spent 26600 lei (21157 lei in 2007).

Charitable Irish organization Tabitha Group, which initiator is the native of Moldova Mrs. Angela Pyrvu, has helped 65 children to get warm clothes. Another 28 children were helped by food packages. Mrs. Tatyana Pyrvu has personally transported and has handed over packages, under lists made by the social worker of Hippocrates Center.

The charitable organizations ChildAid, Micul Samaritean and the church Vestea Buna have helped children to feel the magic of winter holidays. 88 children have received gifts (toys, fruits, school requisites, hygienic means and winter socks).

In 2008 Hippocrates Center has organized some social actions in which 70 children together with parents have taken part. The purpose of these actions was strengthening of friendly relations and the help between families taking care of children with special needs, and also socialization of children.

Thanks to volunteers who worked in the Center in summer months, these actions became a summer project. It’s starting date - June, 1st, and the first action – drawings competition. Competition has ended with a children feast, where they had possibility to dance, try different sweets and fruits, and simply to have fun. The best drawings decorate the informative brochure about Hippocrates Center services.

In the summer, children had possibility to visit some interesting places in Chisinau. Excursions in libraries, cinema, museums, zoo, and ostrich’s farm have been organized. 

12 children together with parents have visited the Orheiul vechi tourist Complex.

The most visible results of our work have been noticed at the following children: Nosov Igor, Leonte Marin, Grishun Vladimir and many others, which multifunctional rehabilitation services could improve the integration possibilities.

With our assistance remarkable changes have been reached in result of the surgical treatment of Brinza Serghey, Daraban Madalina, Ketrari Aleksandrina and Komarova Darya.

Less notable results of treatment are marked in families where children suffer from absence of attention, or because of a heavy material condition. For example, Adrian K., 5 years, with CP; Alexander M., 8 years, CP etc. To these children, Hippocrates Center has offered transportation in the specialized centre where there was possible an improvement of their nutritional state and rehabilitation treatment.

The reached results are the result of correct application of actual principles of rehabilitation, first of all unity between medical and social rehabilitation.

Exchange of information in 2008

Improvement of professional skill of medical and paramedical members of our team taking part in improvement of quality of a life of children with special needs became one of the important purposes of the Center in 2008.

Thus, the sixth year successively, the Center has organized seminars with participation of Medical Teams International experts in physical therapy  and occupational therapy, Seattle, USA.

Seminars which have presented occupational therapy as effective and cost effective rehabilitation method were interesting both for experts and for parents.

From 2008 in Hippocrates Center students of medical faculty, the State University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Nikolae Testemitsanu" have possibility to familiarize with modern methods of medical and social rehabilitation and physical medicine.

Also, in 2008 the program of preparation of one expert of the Centre for the University Diploma in the field of a CP started.  

Another expert of the Center continues the training in child neurology.

One graduate of Physical Therapy faculty, National Institute of Physical training and Sports, has been trained during the volunteering program and became an employee of the Center.

For parents, some teaching materials with following themes have been printed: “The syndrome of hyperactivity at children (ADHD).”, “The visually impaired child opens his hands.” etc.

The heading “Aid to the practical doctor” of scientifically-practical magazine “Perinatology bulletin”, has published the article „The miotatic reflex and its value in rehabilitation of children with CP.”, intended for experts in children's rehabilitation.

Also, the informative brochure in three languages about Hippocrates Center services has been prepared and printed in 1100 copies.

Case description

Child M.,  8 years. A 4 member’s family. Live in a room in a hostel. Mum – housewife, the father – works, astable earnings, now - abroad.

The third child in a family, born prematurely, 31 weeks, pregnancy passed with threat, the body weight at birth – 1950 g.

Parents have early noticed the problems of the child. It had a very weak immunological state, a lowered muscular tone from his first days of life that has led to an early retard in development. The gross motor development and the fine motor have especially suffered. Because of frequent respiratory diseases within the first year of life, the child stayed in hospital, sometimes in a very hard condition.

The child has been included in the program of early intervention of Hippocrates Center at the age of 1 year and 3 months, with the diagnosis of CP. In the beginning, because of respiratory diseases the child had physical therapy sessions and massage at home. At 4 years, the child had expressed spasticity of lower limbs, could not sit without support, his speech was muffled, it was marked expressed saliva secretion and disturbed food behavior. When the frequency of respiratory diseases has decreased, rehabilitation treatment proceeded in more intensive rhythm. Thus, during the period from 4 till 7 years, the child received annually about 40 sessions of multifunctional rehabilitation. As a result, the child walks using the walker, has a good control in a sitting position, improved the sphincters and saliva control.

Thanks to intellectual abilities of the child there was possible an integration in inclusive education program. Such achievement would not take place without participation of the child’s family.

Now the boy successfully finishes the first class of the general school with inclusive education program.