Northern Lisbon Hospital Centre, Alfredo Gomes da Costa Maternity Hospital and the Setúbal Hospital Centre were the winners of the Missão Sorriso (Smile Project) Continente 2011

Santa Maria Hospital, from the Northern Lisbon Hospital Centre, Alfredo Gomes da Costa Maternity Hospital, and São Bernardo Hospital, from the Setúbal Hospital Centre, were among the 22 winners of the Missão Sorriso Continente, out of the 123 projects submitted to Missão Sorriso Continente last year

Prize: €40,000

The Gynaecology Service of the Obstetrics, Gynaecology, and Reproductive Medicine Department of Santa Maria Hospital, from the Northern Lisbon Hospital Centre, applied to Missão Sorriso with the project “Smiling Again” to provide the department with surgical equipment to be used in situations of profound endometriosis and associated infertility with the aim of offering comfort and well-being to pregnant women.
Endometriosis is a benign disorder that affects approximately 10-20% of women of child-bearing age and it reduces fertility in about 20-68% of these women. In about 10% of cases, the disease causes disabling chronic pelvic pain and often involves interruption of normal daily activity.

Prize: € 30,000 

Since Alfredo Gomes da Costa Maternity Hospital is the health centre that assists the highest number of premature newborns, the project “Prevention of chronic lung disease in newborns with neurologically controlled non-invasive ventilation” is intended to help survival with minimal neurological and respiratory sequelae.

There is scientific evidence that non-invasive ventilation can reduce chronic lung disease of premature babies, which is the main complication of ventilating a premature lung. The use of a ventilator that enables less aggressive ventilation resorting to an innovative device that adjusts better to a newborn is important for survival with quality of life in adulthood.

Prize: € 15,000€ 

São Bernardo Hospital, from the Setúbal Hospital Centre, applied to Missão Sorriso with the project “Universal hearing screening of newborns”, which is currently an agreed practice on early detection of hearing loss in infants and has an incidence of one to four cases per thousand births. In these children, early intervention using sensory stimulation and hearing rehabilitation programmes allows mitigating the consequences that this deficit has on their development and social integration.

As a socially responsible company, Continente started Missão Sorriso in 2003. Through the sale of books, CDs, games, and other materials carrying the brand of this project, it was possible to raise about five and a half million Euros. This amount was converted into medical supplies, recreational and support materials for paediatric and neonatal services of Portuguese health units.

(Source: Communication Department / Regional Health Administration of Lisbon and Tagus Valley)