The operation was carried out by medical professionals from the ACRUX Foundation who provided more than 2,500 medical attention to the inhabitants of the island, who do not have regular access to this type of control.
With great response from the island community, the medical operation carried out jointly by the Navy and the ACRUX foundation was welcomed, which took 55 health professionals to the Juan Fernández archipelago to provide care in 21 specialties, such as otorhinolaryngology, bronchopulmonary, cardiology, dermatology, podiatry, radiology, and geriatrics, among others.
The commission lasted between May 25 and 30, with sail from the Molo de Abrigo in Valparaíso to Cumberland Bay in Juan Fernández in a 36-hour navigation. The attention was concentrated during the weekend in the General Rural Center of the island, where the medical personnel were deployed on board to attend to the patients who registered to be treated. In addition, on the deck of the Achilles Transport, a mobile mammography truck was installed so that women on the island could have bilateral mammograms, biopsies and ultrasounds.
It should be noted that this is the tenth time that the ACRUX foundation reaches Juan Fernández, and this time it was able to provide services to residents of all the islands of the archipelago. In total, 2,566 medical treatments were delivered and more than 200 laboratory tests were performed, which contributes significantly to reducing waiting lists in the place.
The mayor of the commune of Juan Fernández, Pablo Manríquez, was very grateful for this type of actions that come in direct benefit of the population of a sector as isolated as the archipelago. “We are happy as a community, that the medical operation can resume it in the commune of Juan Fernández after three years, in which we saw ourselves with a pandemic like everyone else, but effectively we had not had the possibility for specialists to come here and be able to attend to all our islanders, so grateful to the Chilean Navy,” Expressed.
Regarding the commission, the Commander of the Aquiles, Commander Mario Costa, stressed that “the objective was achieved by the ship, the Aquiles provided all its available support to be able to carry out this medical operation in an excellent way. The institution and the ‘Achilles’ himself always goes with logistical support to isolated places, not only Juan Fernández, but also Easter Island, other places in southern Chile, Tortel and even Antarctica.”
For the founder and director of the ACRUX Foundation, Roberto Levín, the operation was a resounding success, since more attention was given than had been projected. “We are happy to have managed to exceed 100% of the goal. We planned to do 1,200 services, we did 2566, and the most important thing is that we served the entire archipelago, not just Robinson Crusoe Island. There is no doubt that the people of the island are waiting for us, so we are happy to be able to return,” he said.