2024-01-25 18:04:28
The 32nd Grand Finale is just a week away!
Here is the most important information about the 32nd Grand Finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. We are all in tune!
Medicine
Grand Finale
Equipment for the fight against sepsis
2023-05-24 23:00:00
The GOCC Foundation has just completed the three-day-long 66th Open Tender held to buy medical equipment for the fight against sepsis. The Foundation spent a record-breaking amount of PLN 168 million! During the press conference organized within the 66th Open Tender, the Great Orchestra also announced the commencement of a new project in cooperation with the SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities and RESQL aimed at raising awareness of mental health in Poland.
Within less than 4 months since the day of the 31st Grand Finale and nearly 2 months after announcing the final result of the January fundraiser, the GOCC Foundation launched the 66th Open Tender to purchase devices for the fight against sepsis. The Foundation was prepared to pledge a staggering sum of PLN 200 million to fulfil the objective of the 31st Grand Finale during the bidding and buy equipment for microbiology labs from the whole of Poland. It was the biggest Open Tender in the history of the GOCC!
We choose quality over price. The quality is the ticket, not the price. We aim to buy the best equipment available. Therefore, I am very happy that again, for the 66th time, we will wisely - as always - use the funds raised by our community!
- Jurek Owsiak, the chairman of the board of the GOCC Foundation
The board of the Foundation was supported by the committee of 14 experts from across the country:
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Bonita Durnaś, MD, PhD (Kielce)
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Łukasz Naumiuk, MD, PhD (Gdańsk)
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Wioletta Świątek-Kwapniewska (Tarnów)
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Krzysztof Burdynowski, MD, PhD (Opole)
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Katarzyna Semczuk, PhD (in biology) (Warszawa)
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Radosław Jaworski, MD, PhD (Warszawa)
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Agnieszka Byś (Biała Podlaska)
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Anna Mól (Poznań)
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Anna Białecka, PhD (in biology) (Kraków)
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Tomasz Bogiel, MD, PhD (Bydgoszcz)
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Agnieszka Mikucka, MD, PhD (Bydgoszcz)
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Anna Wojciaszek (Warszawa)
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Prof. Katarzyna Dzierżanowska-Fangart, MD, PhD (Warszawa)
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Marcin Gostyński, Eng (Warszawa)
Within 3 days and 40-hour-long negotiations, the GOCC has purchased 399 devices for PLN 168,275,624.60.
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29 pcs of equipment for automatic biochemical identification and drug-susceptibility testing of microorganisms from Becton Dickinson Polska Sp. z o.o.
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11 pcs of equipment for the rapid identification of outbreaks caused by multidrug-resistant strains from Diag-Med. Grażyna Koncecka
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39 pcs of automatic blood culture system from bioMérieux Polska Sp. z o.o.
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104 pcs of equipment for the identification of micro-organisms by Maldi TOF mass spectrometry systems from Becton Dickinson Polska Sp. z o.o.
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76 pcs of multiplex PCR-type molecular diagnostic tool for the identification of micro-organisms including determination of drug resistance from bioMérieux Polska Sp. z o.o.
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44 pcs of an automated system for quantitative antimicrobial susceptibility testing (MIC) from Argenta Sp. z o.o.
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7 analysers for the detection of bacterial/and fungal amplification products in blood and determination of resistance mechanisms using TITU magnetic resonance technology from Biomedica Poland Sp.z o.o.
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8 pcs of an automated culture system for microbiological samples from TRIOS PL
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81 laminar flow cabinets for laboratories from ALCEHM GRUPA SP. Z O.O.
We go for the state-of-the-art equipment which - apart from single cases - was not widely used in Poland before. One such device will be installed in 104 out of over 160 microbiology labs in the country. Thanks to a young man's genius idea, the device combines mass spectrometer technology with a laser and allows for the identification of microorganisms that cause sepsis. A 35-year-old Japanese was presented with a Nobel Prize for creating the device in 2002. Today, the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity installs 104 pieces of this equipment in Polish labs.
- Professor Bohdan Maruszewski, MD, Ph. D., vice chairman of the board of the Foundation
The equipment will be delivered to 167 microbiology laboratories in 126 Polish cities.
We wait for such devices. It is a historic moment. I dare to say it is an epoch-making event for diagnostic microbiology. Microbiologists have been waiting for years to receive such equipment.
- Bonita Durnaś, MD, PhD, from the Świętokrzyskie Oncology Centre in Kielce, a member of the expert committee during the 66th Open Tender
Collaboration for the Sake of Mental Health in Poland
During the press conference organized at the 66th Open Tender, the Orchestra also announced a new project based on cooperation with the SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, the SWPS Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Clinic, and RESQL. Parties signed a letter of intent which provides for joint activities to raise public awareness of the state and determinants of mental health in Poland.
The GOCC Foundation decided to make one more step to support young people going through a mental health crisis. The Great Orchestra will finance the implementation and access to the RSQL system, icl. the RSQL mobile app, for 50 educational facilities in Poland. The system is designed to support schools in providing solutions in cases of peer violance, and to aid the mental health of the youth.
Something tells me, and I am positive it is true, that the solution is a cutting-edge system. It is not an interim measure. We are not talking about putting down a small fire or introducing a solution that will soon be forgotten. It is a systemic solution based on solid scientific research. [...] We care for a more friendly atmosphere at school. We are present at almost 100 schools, and we have trained several thousand teachers, guidance counsellors, and psychologists. Right now, we remain in touch with ca. 500 school interventionists with whom we work very closely. It is a tested programme which has been on the market for two years. And it proves that there are systemic solutions to children's and adolescents' psychiatry and psychology challenges.
- Piotr Ciszek, CEO of RESWL, one of the co-designers of the system
The SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, the SWPS Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Clinic, and RESQL will also be present during the 29th Pol'and'Rock Festival to promote their initiative among festivalgoers and prepare educational activities in mental health.
We are in the midst of mental health crisis. In Poland and around the world, we face climate, human relationships, and economic crises all of which impact the way we feel. And it is the young people who are affected the most, especially if they do not have access to proper help. The main issue is that most people talk about that crisis, but we together with the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity decided to act on it. And for that, we want to thank the GOCC Foundation. We want to join forces with the Foundation so that psychological aid based on scientifically tested methods was accessible to children, teenagers, and to people at Pol'and'Rock Festival, the Festival of Good, being itself - for many of us - a form of therapeutic experience.
- Professor Roman Cieślik, PhD, rector of the SWPS University
During the 31st Grand Finale thanks to a massive engagement of Poles we managed to collect a total of PLN 243,259,387.25, i.e. almost PLN 19 million more than last year.
What does the course of an Open Tender look like?
The course of an Open Tender organized by the GOCC Foundation involves several steps to ensure a thorough and meticulous selection process. The foundation prioritizes quality over price when making purchase decisions. The GOCC invites an expert committee, consisting of leading specialists in the relevant field of medicine, to take part in the proceedings and support the Foundation in reviewing the technical specifications, quality standards, and other relevant factors to assess the suitability of each bid. These experts are typically practising doctors working in hospitals. They play a crucial role in supporting the Foundation to make informed decisions. The primary focus of the Open Tender is to choose the highest quality medical devices or equipment. The expert committee's expertise and input help ensure that the Foundation selects the best options available in the market.
To date, the biggest Open Tender was organized in 2019 (it was the 52nd edition), when the Foundation spent PLN 106 million on MRI and CT devices.
Why was the fight against sepsis the main objective of the 31st Grand Finale fundraiser?
We want to win with sepsis! The Grand Finale for all - the little and the big ones - was the slogan of this year's annual January fundraiser held by the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation. The aim of the 31st Grand Finale was to raise money for the purchase of medical equipment allowing for a fast diagnosis and implementation of targeted treatment against sepsis. When it comes to sepsis, the time is of great importance. Within just a few hours, the patient may experience multiple organ system failures, shock, or even death. According to the research, diagnosing sepsis and administering an effective antibiotic with a one-hour delay increases the risk of death by 8 per cent.
2024-03-21 11:14:53
Sending Light to the Sky!
The Light to the Sky of this year dazzled with a contemporary and breathtaking display! The tradition lives on in a brand new form, as people from Poland and beyond come together to symbolically channel positive energy and wishes for hope to the good angels.
2024-01-28 19:03:27
The Orchestra has started to play!
Jurek Owsiak, conductor of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, gave the signal and the 32nd Grand Finale officially began.
