• Blumar and San Sebastián University joined together with neighborhood associations and other organizations to develop a program of free medical services focused on prevention, early detection and promotion of healthy habits in the communities of Coronel and San Vicente, with a focus on comprehensive health care.

Thanks to the alliance between Blumar and San Sebastián University, free medical services have been provided to communities in the Biobío Region, particularly in San Vicente and Coronel, for more than two years. These actions have made it possible to serve children, adults and seniors, as well as raise awareness about the importance of caring for health in all aspects.

“Working with the territory allows us to be a relevant social actor and this type of action, which stems from collaboration and unity of purpose, allows us to improve the quality of life of people and promote harmonious and healthy coexistence with our neighbors. We are very pleased with the development of this alliance,” said Raúl Hermosilla, Manager of People and Sustainability at Blumar.

In San Vicente, the alliance with the Speech-Language Pathology program at the university consisted of audiological operations in schools that evaluated, for example, possible hearing loss, and benefited more than 122 people, including students, teachers, staff and parents. Likewise, 29 children in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first grade were evaluated to assess their phonetic, phonological level and auditory memory.

A diagnosis of reading comprehension in fourth grade children was also carried out, along with a test of metamorphological skills, where their ability to identify and use phonemes and syllables was evaluated. On the other hand, teachers and staff also had the opportunity to participate in vocal workshops, and in another that will allow them to identify signs of neurodevelopmental disorders in schoolchildren. Parents also participated in this last instance.

Meanwhile, students pursuing Dentistry degrees conducted workshops for students and parents to educate them about oral health concepts and brushing techniques. On the other hand, Nutrition students from USS trained students, teachers and parents about proper nutrition and nutritional status assessment. In the future, not only nutritional and speech-language pathology services will be provided, but also psychological services.

The coordinator of the children’s area of the Speech-Language Pathology program at the university, Lina Rodríguez, highlighted that three programs were involved in the operations, which had “a primarily preventive approach and promotion of health and well-being, benefiting the entire educational community.” She emphasized that “the benefit is bidirectional, as it benefited both the educational community and university students.”

On the other hand, as part of the program called “USS and Blumar committed to the comprehensive health of the Coronel community,” operations were carried out in the municipality with students and faculty from the Medicine, Speech-Language Pathology and Occupational Therapy programs, with a focus on adults and seniors, also generating active aging workshops that provided them with concrete tools to implement in their daily lives.

Initially, cognitive evaluations (Speech-Language Pathology), functionality assessments (Occupational Therapy) and anthropometric measurements (Medicine) were performed, benefiting more than 50 people grouped in almost a dozen neighborhood associations in the municipality.

The president of the Carlos Prat Neighborhood Association of Cerro Obligado, Corina Hernández, noted that “the neighbors found it to be a very good initiative that helped us guide ourselves to have better daily habits, and care for our seniors, parents, and neighbors. We greatly appreciate the opportunity; there was a very good level of care, a very notable cordiality that is appreciated.”

The head of the Coronel Flour Plant, Lucas Saavedra, stated that “these instances are very important to us because they bring us closer to the community. This is one of the many activities that Blumar develops for neighborhood associations, since the health of people is fundamental, which is why we are proud to contribute in that regard.”