Cutting of the ribbon at the Centro Vaccinale Asl in Piazzale Carturan in Latina, to inaugurate the renovation project entirely financed by the funds raised by the Alessia and her Angels Association. Not just a change in the “image”, with colored walls and new furniture, but a real structural restyling that required an investment of 70,000 euros which made it possible to create a child-friendly environment, with welcoming spaces that were also functional for mothers and accessible to people with disabilities.
“Child protection has always been a priority for the Association. The new renovation project of the Latina Asl Vaccinal Center is part of this perspective: to contribute to making this health facility suitable for children, reassuring and welcoming but also functional for mothers and people with disabilities – he declares Amelia Vitiello, Vice President of the Alessia and her Angels Association – This pandemic has shown how the Vaccination Centers are the first defense against the Covid19 pandemic, but we must not forget that the other viruses do not disappear by magic and that it is necessary to guarantee the continuity of the Vaccination Plan, especially for the little ones “.
Not a simple “change of clothes” with colored walls, graphics with reassuring shapes and new furnishings, but a real structural restyling that has seen the renovation of the water and electrical systems; the increase of the premises for the administration of vaccines, from two to three; all the rooms, including the toilets, have undergone the removal of architectural barriers and have also been made accessible for people with disabilities; the waiting room was also renovated and a play area was created for children, with tactile and visual sensory games, custom-made tables and chairs. An area dedicated to breastfeeding and nursery was also planned.
It took two years – a long period that included the conception phase, the collection of funds, the planning and implementation of the works – to complete this ambitious project for the benefit of the whole community of Latina. Not an easy path, also considering the pandemic underway, which has repaid all the efforts made for the benefit of the whole community of Latina and the province.
“We have to thank all those who believed in this project, without them it would not have been possible. First of all the Municipality of Latina, in addition to the Asl itself. About 70,000 euros were used from donations to the Association, both spontaneous and from 5×1000, including a testamentary bequest. The same members of the Board of the Association rolled up their sleeves by personally participating in the work. – says the President Alessandro Mastrogiovanni – Now the environments are more welcoming especially for the little patients who will arrive to receive the vaccinations, and we hope that this child-friendly environment will be more reassuring for them. In the future we hope to raise other funds necessary to renovate the green area that is located outside the vaccination center. In fact, we remember that this, like other Centers throughout Italy, will have a fundamental role in this relentless fight against the pandemic and other diseases that cyclically expose our children, so let us be ready ”.
“I’m excited – adds Vice President Amelia Vitiello – the fact that the inauguration of this vaccination center coincides with April 20, that is, with the birthday of Alessia who would have turned 15 years old.
The Association “Alessia and her Angels” was established on November 19, 2007 by 27 founding members to realize the desire of Alessandro Mastrogiovanni and Amelia Vitiello, parents of little Alessia of only 18 months who passed away on October 19, 2007 following a fulminant meningitis. In a synergy of strengths, participation and availability, of the people closest to Alessandro and Amelia, the Association immediately took action to establish the objectives to be achieved in the name of solidarity, in order to give support, with concrete help, where there are contexts of degradation, illness and abandonment that put the lives of children at risk.