Fundación Baylor Argentina

Belén Opazo arrived in Añelo with her partner five years ago. She is 32 years old and lived in Cinco Saltos, Río Negro, until a job opportunity became the change they "needed". In Añelo, they were married and soon after, the news came that Zoe was on her way.

"I had all the recommended prenatal screenings in the hospital of Añelo with the obstetrician of Fundación Baylor Argentina," says Belén. The pregnancy was normal and the screenings indicated the same. In the end, Zoe refused to come out, and at 42 weeks there was no more time. It was a difficult labor, I was hospitalized the day before because she didn't move and finally had to be delivered by cesarean section. Zoe weighed 3.8 kilos (8 lbs, 6 oz) and was born on November 4, 2020."

The well child screenings began quickly, through one of the programs implemented by Fundación Baylor Argentina in Añelo. "I always made them here. I was blessed that it was Dr. Javier Mozzi because a little problem appeared in her heart. When I was discharged she was very agitated and did not eat well. The bottle was not taken because she slept a lot, and it was difficult to feed her," she says.

"During early screenings we detected a heart murmur. We made a diagnosis of congenital heart disease with the hospital ultrasound," explains Mozzi, a pediatrician and child cardiologist at the Foundation.

The screenings and follow-up were month-by-month to see how it developed because Zoe struggled to gain weight. Belén says that she had to be very aware of how she breathed and detect if she was agitated a lot. "During the first year we had a lot of visits," says Belén.She added, "Last month, when she had her first birthday, we went to the visit and what had to be closed was closed. Luckily she is eating very well. We were very worried." Dr. Mozzi added, "We continued with the visits until it was closed and the heart condition went away on its own."

“Counting on healthcare services of the like is quite comforting as Fundación's professionals take their time with each patient, to get to know them. In my case, Dr. Sosa’s services are particularly important for her kind manners. She gives each patient time. And all the doctors do so, they maximize their time here but each patient gets the necessary time to explain their condition,” she concluded.

The well-child screening program of Fundación Baylor Argentina seeks to evaluate and measure the development of the child according to the corresponding variables of weight, social behavior and learning conditions. During 2021, 556 well-child screenings were carried out and, since 2017, 4,256 screenings have been carried out.

Belén highlighted the care provided by Fundación Baylor Argentina while she was receiving care. "They were attentive to everything, the pediatrician's care is very thorough and attentive. And all the answers by Whatsapp, and follow-up calls were appreciated. It's a very nice team they have. I am very grateful for how they work, they are very human and do everything to make the patient comfortable and well. And you feel great," she said. She added: "My friends and I started a chain because many had given birth recently and I advised them to take their children to the well-child visits provided by the Foundation. And they're all just as happy as I am."

Before this world was marked by the pandemic, Virginia Cabrera decided to become a donor of breast milk. Something she had heard and read on social networks solidified the idea for her. At that time, her young son Ramiro was barely weeks old. With the decision made, she began to figure out how to donate breast milk but the coronavirus loomed and stopped everyone's life (and her idea of donating breast milk) for many months.

In the middle of the pandemic and with her little baby at home, the idea was paused. Virginia and Nicolás, Ramiro's parents, decided that their little baby would not use disposable diapers and opted for cloth ones. "We decided to do our part taking care of the planet and not generating more plastic. In addition, the cloth diapers are advanced today, they come with drawstrings, everything, "says Virginia taking the opportunity to encourage thoughtfulness about the environment.

It was there, in search of those cloth diapers, that she met a woman who sold them. "I noticed that she had twins and, obviously, we started chatting. She told me that her two children were hospitalized and that it cost her a lot. She also explained to me that the two of them had received breast milk from the bank and how important it was," Virginia says.

Fate guided the compass after that encounter but it wasn't instantaneous. Soon, Virginia and Nico learned that Malú would be arriving soon. "It was just last year, around this same time, for Breastfeeding Week, that she the woman who sold the cloth diapers posted on her networks the importance of donating breast milk. I decided then that this it was the opportunity. When Malú was born two months ago, once she was fed and I saw that I had milk left over, I started to collect it,” says Virginia.

She began to find out what the process was like and after contacting the Milk Bank, she met with the staff of the Fundación Baylor Argentina, who sought to make it as simple and practical as possible for Virginia. "I have to say that the staff were super attentive, they gave me all the information and very quickly we delivered the first three bottles of milk. Small, but important," she recounts as her last words seem to be an idyllic summary of her donation and the selfless love that hides behind her action. "They are geniuses, they even came to get the milk at home because you can imagine that with the two boys it is not easy. My husband goes to work and when I finish changing one, I have to start changing the other," she jokes about the daily life with Ramiro about to turn 2 and Malú 2 months. And then, she clarifies almost as a warning: "My idea is to continue donating while I can."

Virginia is 35 years old and a teacher. Her life is linked to Añelo from the first days. Her parents came to the town in the early 1970s to work with a well known family. Her husband began to analyze that the city that was beginning to move to the rhythm of oil. He observed that a little bar was needed, a place to eat something and continue. And he opened it. "A little place with a bar and food and that's it," he says.

But it didn't stop there for that pioneer. He began to notice that lodging was necessary, a place to spend the night, because at that time there was nothing. "A company gave him the money to do it, which he paid back with interest. And that's how he built the first lodging in Añelo," adds Virginia.

She has great memories of those old days in Añelo, when she closes her eyes and seems to observe, as a recent record, those Christmases when she was a girl and the whole town gathered in the street in a joint celebration. "We were 30 people," she recalls.

When she finished high school, Virginia studied to be a teacher in Neuquén and, in between, she returned to Añelo to have her first daughter: Morena, who is now 13 years old. In 2015 she met Nico, they got married and had Ramiro and Malú. He has a position at the aguada San Roque school, but is on leave. Today, in addition to being a mother who donates breast milk, she breastfeeds her two little ones at the same time. "They take in tandem," she jokes.

The Neuquén Human Milk Bank was inaugurated in June 2016 and is the first in Patagonia. It operates in the Complexity VI hospital of Cutral Co-Plaza Huincul and is a specialized center, recipient of milk from donor mothers and have the mission of ensuring the feeding with pasteurized human milk of children born or admitted to care institutions. Since its inception, it has collected more than 2,000 liters of human milk from more than 1,400 donor mothers.

The Foundation collaborates with donations and the proper transportation of this donated milk. In this process, we are especially attentive to help the donor mother who need it. The requirements are explained, information is provided, the visit to a doctor is managed to perform the blood tests of rigor and, if the patient accepts, we contact the provincial Breast Milk Bank. We are aware and attentive to the whole process to be able to solve any inconvenience. The Fundación Baylor Argentina supports the Añelo Hospital to be accredited to the Ministry of Health of Neuquén as a friendly breastfeeding center.

In this case, we want to especially thank Sandra Weder and Alejandro Ballerio from the Bouquet Roldán Hospital, the nutritionist Astrid Henoch from the Breast Milk Bank, the Plottier and Cutral Co hospitals and the entire team that works to make breast milk donation possible. And, mainly, we want to thank, value and amplify Virginia and her selfless love.

Chevron is the founding partner and majority sponsor of the Baylor Foundation Argentina, since its inception in 2017. The joint work was essential to be able to develop the maternal and child programs in the communities of Añelo, Rincón de los Sauces and the Ciudad Industrial neighborhood, in the city of Neuquén.

Dante Ramos is Corporate Affairs Manager for Latin America at Chevron Argentina and offered his vision on the development and action of the Baylor Foundation Argentina. "We are proud to work together with the Foundation since the beginning of its activities in our country," he said.

Chevron Argentina actively participates in the development of the communities where it operates. "We work together with local authorities and organizations to identify needs, design programs and coordinate efforts to implement projects that have a positive impact on the development of communities," he added.

"The success of the program is, to a large extent, thanks to the joint work of all parties; the Foundation, the Ministry of Health of the Province of Neuquén, the hospitals and municipalities of Añelo and Rincón de los Sauces, our partner YPF and the private sector," he explained. Regarding the accomplishments of the Foundation, he added, "Fundación Baylor Argentina has been an extraordinary partner in the implementation of the maternal and child health program supported by Chevron. Their professionalism and efficiency have contributed decisively to bringing benefits to the community."

Finally, Ramos added, "We are proud to accompany the Foundation in our shared mission to improve primary health care in our communities.