The Valle del Lili Foundation has just added a new distinction to its already extensive list of awards for its brilliant work: recognition in the global ranking of Brand Finance, which ranks it 32nd among the best University Hospitals in the world and as the second best in Latin America.
This award “is part of the spirit of aligning, in the face of academic and human excellence, our four institutional pillars or columns: care, education, research and social responsibility,” says the Deputy Director of Medical Education, Dr. Luis Alberto Escobar Flórez .
According to Dr. Vicente Borrero Restrepo, General Director of the Institution, in turn, “these pillars have three great ties that strengthen them, such as humanism and social responsibility in everything we do; the recognition of our teaching, assistance and collaborator staff, as essential actors in our practice scenarios; and also our alliances as joint work in favor of growth and service to the community”.
The success of Fundación Valle del Lili is a reflection of a culture of service, commitment to education and social responsibility, which might be summarized in 10 milestones that demonstrate why patients from all over Colombia and the world arrive at its doors to contact the best hands: those of a team of the highest professional quality, and above all, with human quality.
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1. Pursuit of excellence
One of the premises of Fundación Valle del Lili is to be better every day, not only in the offer of health services, but also in their provision; in the choice of human resources, in the search for well-being for patients, their families and the community in general.
It is for this reason that employees are promoted, educated, and trained to provide high-quality care, on the principle that sick people are cared for at the Institution, not illnesses.
From the foregoing it can be deduced that “excellence is sought both in human beings and in the organization,” says the Deputy Director General, Dr. Marcela Granados Sánchez.
2. Medical assistance
In a city with high rates of violence, such as those in Cali, it is necessary to access high-quality emergency services and trauma surgery.
In this sense, the Valle del Lili Foundation has attention in advanced procedures to take care of patients with trauma injuries, caused by firearms or sharps, and by traffic accidents, among others. The Institution is also a reference center in Colombia and the world, since it is the first of its kind in Latin America to use the Aortic Endovascular Resuscitation Occlusion Balloon for cases of hemorrhagic shock.
This is just one example in terms of its advances in assistance, in which the suitability of professionals, clinical research, state-of-the-art technology and the wide range of specialties and subspecialties prevail. Hence, they receive the most complex cases every day, since their care teams are among the best in the country.
3. Humanized care
When care is focused on patients and their families, the service translates into satisfaction, which implies complementing high care performance with assertive information strategies, educational programs, and emotional support.
The FVL implemented a model that brings together these aspects, ensuring that its processes are focused on satisfying the requirements of the users, while achieving positive clinical outcomes. “Because memorable experiences are those in which the patient and her family are perceived as active participants, and their values and needs are taken into account,” says Dr. Giovanna Miranda Chacón, Assistant Medical Administrative Director. Among the components of the model are: Education, Access to information and Communication, Humanization of Care, Promise of Service, and Comprehensive, Coordinated, Continuous and Effective Care.
4. Education and teaching
The Institution’s medical staff recognizes its role in the training of future generations of doctors and specialists, demonstrating an important commitment to the generation and dissemination of knowledge, research and teaching. For Dr. Jorge Mario Madriñán, Deputy Medical Director of the FVL, “in this way, we promote and ensure a tangible and long-term contribution to strengthening the practice of medicine in Colombia, the well-being of the community and we contribute to the viability of the health system.
For this reason, 640 doctors and other health professionals are part of the faculty of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the Icesi University, thanks to the Deep Alliance for Life between both institutions.
5. Clinical research
118 hospitals benefited in 2022 from the Hospital Padrino project of the FVL, in Valle, Cauca and Nariño.
6. Innovation
Innovation is another of the keys of the Institution. Its Lili Citizens have the support of the Clinical Research Center to develop innovative ideas that improve the lives of patients.
To date, there are 10 patents in Colombia, the US and Brazil, and 15 are pending in Latin America and Europe. Two valves: one for managing the artificial airway and another for physiotherapy, as well as an alarm for mechanical ventilators, and a chair for comprehensive rehabilitation, are some innovations that will be at the service of the world in the future.
7. Leadership in transplants
Another highly significant contribution of the FVL is to help patients have a second chance at life, through the Donation and Transplantation Functional Unit, which managed to rank for the tenth year as the institution that performs the most procedures in Colombia. In addition to transplanting various organs and tissues, it is a pioneer in double-lung transplants, as well as pediatric multivisceral, a milestone that made headlines in 2022.
For Dr. Vicente Borrero, “the management of resources is fundamental, and we have generated this economic support ourselves, with our work and with the care that money must have, which in the case of the FVL does not have owners.”
From the Hospital Padrino project, they advise health centers in remote areas to improve their services.
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8. Social commitment
The FVL is the only Institution in which specialists leave their offices for other regions to serve communities that do not have access to health, and work with less complex hospitals to share knowledge. With the Hospital Padrino strategy, from the Social Responsibility pillar, maternal deaths have been reduced, in alliance with Propacífico and health secretaries.
“Medical education must migrate to the territories. We believe that it is the only chance to change the history of health in the country,” says Dr. María Fernanda Escobar, an obstetrician-gynecologist and leader of the Hospital Padrino program of the FVL.
9. Green hospital
Good environmental health practices are a daily premise. This is reflected in recognitions such as the ‘Less footprint, more health’ award, for its leadership in the implementation of sustainable purchases, which was awarded to the FVL by the Global Network of Green and Healthy Hospitals, of which it is a part. The management of sustainable materials, an exemplary use of anesthetic gases (greenhouse gases and those responsible for climate change) and the proper handling of dangerous chemicals in the laboratory are some of the friendly strategies.
These and other initiatives were verified by the Senior Sustainability Advisor for the organization Salud Sin Daño, Susan Wilburn. “The work here makes Colombia see itself as an example to follow,” said the international expert, during her visit to the Institution.
10. Happy human talent
Undoubtedly, for the FVL, Lili Citizens are a source of pride and they all work with a corporate culture that applies universal principles and integrates institutional values. At the same time, it encourages that being a collaborator is much more than just doing a job. In fact, in 2022, and for four consecutive years, it was awarded the Best Workplaces trophy as the best place to work in the health sector in Colombia, and the seventh in the general ranking. Work environment, development opportunity and ideal salaries are incentives.
7,933 Ciudadanos Lili work at the Institution, in its four offices in Cali and one in Jamundí.
