Berko İlaç Donates Patient Lift

Berko İlaç was recognized in December 2018 with the "Social Responsibility Project of the Year" award under the Social Responsibility in Healthcare awards organized by Sağlık Gönüllüleri Derneği, for its plastic cap collection project carried out together with TOFD. Berko İlaç Board Member Eylem Beran received the award alongside TOFD Board Vice Chairman Semra Çetinkaya. During remarks at the ceremony, Semra Çetinkaya discussed problems she experienced at the hospital where she underwent cancer treatment, highlighting the importance of patient lifts found in many private hospitals but absent from state and university hospitals. Following Çetinkaya's request for assistance regarding the patient lift—which enables transportation of patients unable to walk during diagnosis and treatment—and media coverage of her experience on ntv.com.tr, Berko İlaç donated a patient lift to Bağcılar Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi, where Çetinkaya received treatment. Following the patient lift donation, Berko İlaç Board Member Eylem Beran, TOFD Board Vice Chairman Semra Çetinkaya, and NTV Health Editor Tülay Karabağ visited Bağcılar Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi. Hospital Chief Physician Prof. Dr. Ahmet Müslümanoğlu conveyed his thanks to Berko İlaç for the patient lift donation. During the visit, Semra Çetinkaya said, "This donation is very important for patients in the same situation as me. The patient lift will provide great convenience not only for people with disabilities but also for those experiencing temporary disability during imaging procedures." Berko İlaç Board Member and Corporate Communications Director Eylem Beran stated, "For three years we have contributed to TOFD's 'Kapak Olsun' project, but we were unaware of the difficulties Semra experienced at the hospital where she received treatment. We learned in detail about the problems she faced at the hospital following the ntv.com.tr report, and our awareness on this issue increased. Consequently, we decided to donate a patient lift to the hospital. We hope this donation sets an example for other companies, encouraging more firms to make donations to hospitals, so that problems arising from the lack of such equipment no longer occur," he said.