NEONATOLOGY & NEWBORN CARE SERVICE

The Neonatology Service at the Obstetrics-Gynecology Department of Hygeia Hospital provides neonatal care that meets international standards for newborns and their mothers.

This service includes:

• The Standard Care Unit for healthy newborns at birth
• The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Neonatal Pathology Unit, where newborns presenting complications after birth are treated and monitored
• The Outpatient Unit (for newborns returning during the 28-day period or those born in other maternity hospitals)

The medical staff includes 6 neonatologist-pediatricians with extensive experience and training both domestically and internationally in Neonatology. They are available and on-call 24/7 to ensure safety and well-being for all newborns.

This service also includes a team of nurses—qualified and continuously trained professionals—who provide high-quality care to newborns and maximum support to new mothers in the maternity ward.

In addition to medical services, new mothers are educated on newborn care and breastfeeding, ensuring continuity of care even after discharge.

Advantages of Neonatal Care in the Neonatology Service

1. Friendly environment and promotion of early mother-child bonding (skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth)

2. Early initiation and support of breastfeeding

3. Father’s presence during delivery

4. Thermal care and assistance with newborn adaptation post-birth

5. Infection prevention and management

6. Strict application of neonatal care protocols (Vitamin K, eye prophylaxis, vaccination, umbilical cord care)

7. Access to modern screening services for newborns, including Metabolic Analysis, Hearing Tests, and Hip Ultrasound Screening

8. Newborn follow-up during the first month of life at the Neonatology Outpatient Clinic and support for any issues during this period

9. Consultation and experience exchange with colleagues at the Neonatology Department of Hygeia Hospital Athens

10. Participation of medical and nursing staff in national and international scientific activities to stay updated with current knowledge in Perinatology, Neonatology, and Pediatrics

NEPHROLOGY & HEMODIALYSIS SERVICE

The Nephrology Department at Hygeia Hospital is a branch of Internal Medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of kidney-related diseases. The number of nephrologists serving in this department and the range of services offered have gradually increased. Currently, the Department focuses on chronic kidney disease, which is treated with renal replacement therapy (hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, kidney transplantation).

The team of nephrologists treats a wide range of conditions, including but not limited to:

• Chronic kidney disease
• Acute kidney injury
• Glomerulonephritis
• Renovascular diseases
• Metabolic management of kidney stones
• Malignant kidney diseases
• Renal diseases during pregnancy

Our institution began offering dialysis services in August. Since then, the department has carried out over 82,000 dialysis sessions. This number includes patients receiving dialysis as a primary indication or in support of various health conditions across Hygeia Hospital departments.

The medical team of this department, consisting of 4 specialized doctors, 17 nurses, and 1 coordinator, strictly follows and applies the most up-to-date guidelines and protocols for treating this group of patients.

The Hemodialysis Unit is equipped with state-of-the-art dialysis machines from Fresenius, a global leader in dialysis technology.

Since 2013 and continuing today, kidney transplants with living donors have been performed at our hospital. These transplants are carried out by a team of international doctors with many years of experience, in close collaboration with the clinical nephrology and anesthesia teams for the management of these patients.

Advances in diagnostic and therapeutic methods today allow kidney involvement to be detected in patients with various conditions during the course of their illness. Other diseases often associated with impaired kidney function include diabetes mellitus, heart disease, arterial hypertension, infections, etc. To ensure optimal care, the Nephrology Department works in close and full harmony with other departments that treat the primary illness of these patients, enabling a professional and integrated approach to these complex cases.

The nephrology department staff is fully committed to providing “state-of-the-art” medical services from a professional standpoint and as empathetic as possible from a human perspective.

The Internal Medicine Department at Hygeia Hospital is one of the leading and most important departments, due to the wide range of diseases it treats and the many specialties it includes. This department focuses on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of a broad spectrum of diseases in adults and the elderly.

This department’s daily activity is based on consultations and multispecialty follow-up, with one of its strengths being the collaborative work of its specialist physicians.

The key to this Department’s success:

A team of experienced and qualified doctors, under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Arben Pilca, available to patients at all times, 24/7, every day of the year.

Each specialty within this Department offers specialized consultations at any time. In complex cases, group consultations are also provided (with a panel of specialists). This means that the patient receives the best possible care from all specialists within the same structure without needing to go elsewhere. Consultations and accompanying examinations—which are crucial for reaching an accurate and safe diagnosis—are performed on the same day.

For complex disease cases, patients are also offered the possibility of obtaining a second opinion from specialist doctors at Hygeia Hospital in Athens, through real-time online consultations made possible by the PACS System installed at Hygeia Hospital. Everything functions toward a single goal: providing high-quality, prompt service, accurate diagnoses, and as a result, effective treatments for patients.

Close collaboration with other Hospital Departments:

The doctors of this Department also work closely with all other departments in the hospital, particularly with the core departments that support accurate, fast, and above all safe services. These include the Clinical-Biochemical-Immunological-Hormonal Laboratory, the Anatomical Pathology Laboratory, and the Imaging Department (X-ray, CT scan, MRI, Ultrasound, etc.), all of which serve patients 24/7, every day of the year.