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Melina Challapa Targara is the sole nurse responsible for overseeing the health centre that serves 120 families in one of the poorest and hardest-to-reach areas in Bolivia – the Challa K’asa Communidad of Norte Potosí. This week, she will get a few helping hands.

Véronique Fleury, a certified mid-wife and area sales manager with IVF HARTMANN AG in Switzerland, will provide best practices on hygiene and sanitation to local health care professionals. Sankaranarayanan “Shankar” Chandrasekaran, an executive in product development at HARTMANN India, will teach residents the basics of wound management. Additionally, Purita Mizona, a production worker with HARTMANN Australia, will manage nutrition programming with local residents.

 “Our employee volunteers were specifically chosen for this mission because they represent HARTMANN’s commitment to go further for health each in their own unique way,” said Stephan Schulz, HARTMANN Human Resource Leader and Chief Financial Officer. “Our goal is to ensure that our 30,000 employees have opportunities to contribute to communities around the world -- equipping them as leaders and global citizens ready to combat the challenges that they are tasked with tackling every day.”

Schulz, a fluent Spanish speaker, will join the mission as a volunteer and work to develop a product donation program alongside Chandrasekaran, Asociación Acción Andina Bolivien (the local partner organization), and CARE Germany for the impoverished region.

This is the second cohort of HARTMANN volunteers to travel to the region situated more than 3,500 meters above sea level. HARTMANN’s first mission to Bolivia (video) in April cemented the global health leader’s three-year partnership with CARE Germany.  As part of the collaboration, 18 HARTMANN employees will support the renowned humanitarian aid organization’s development projects in three countries including Bolivia, Kenya and Nepal through 2018.  

“We have a lot of work to do and appreciate HARTMANN’s continued support for our work for the most vulnerable and marginalized people in Bolivia,” said Bettina Meinardus, corporate partnership manager for CARE Germany.  “There is a little and poorly-equipped health point in Challa K'asa. With the high altitude and difficult climate conditions, many children under five years old suffer from malnutrition. The communities lack drinking water, sanitation, and latrines which increases the prevalence of gastrointestinal diseases. We also see bronchitis, tuberculosis and skin diseases.”

According to CARE, of the more than 175,000 residents in the Norte Potosí region, 77 percent are considered poor. Thirty-nine percent of children under five years of age are malnourished, and the most affected groups are women and children.

“Several years ago, I served in Darfur as a mission member of Doctors of the World,” said Fleury. “From that moment forward, I was a different person. What we will experience this week in Challa K’asa will challenge us mentally and physically. But we’ll come back with insights and a new source of inspiration that will fuel how we approach and rethink healthcare at home.”

HARTMANN remains committed to tackling the challenges that healthcare systems face around the world. With almost 200 years of global health leadership and more than 10,000 employees in 30 countries, with a passion for healthcare, the company is dedicated to its mission: going further for health. 

Follow #HARTMANNbeyond on Tumblr or Twitter (@HARTMANN _GROUP) for on-the-ground updates from Bolivia. For the latest healthcare insights from HARTMANN leadership visit New Perspectives. To learn more about the HARTMANN GROUP, visit: https://hartmann.info/. 

About the HARTMANN GROUP

The HARTMANN GROUP is one of the leading providers of medical and hygiene products, with its core expertise being in wound treatment, incontinence care, infection prevention, surgical supplies and personal healthcare. With its headquarters in Heidenheim, Germany and group companies worldwide, the Group company is in close touch with the global market. The HARTMANN GROUP achieved sales revenues of some EUR 1.941 million in 2015, with a workforce of just over 10,300 employees.

PAUL HARTMANN AG, which is based in Heidenheim, Germany, forms the heart of the corporate group. It is one of Germany's oldest industrial companies, having been originally founded as a textile factory by Ludwig von Hartmann in 1818. In 1873, the latter's son Paul Hartmann, began production of absorbent cotton wool, and later the Company evolved into the flagship of an expanding dressing materials industry worldwide. The HARTMANN GROUP encompasses not only numerous sales companies abroad but also, among others, BODE Chemie (Hamburg), Karl Otto Braun (Wolfstein), Sanimed (Ibbenbüren) and Kneipp (Würzburg).

HARTMANN Group (Paul HARTMANN AG)

HARTMANN Group (Paul HARTMANN AG)

Our brand promise is" going further for health" Our mission is to rethink healthcare by constantly looking for ways to improve treatments, outcomes and healthcare experiences in both the professional sector and at home.

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