Access to treatment

Some conditions cannot wait, and some families cannot pay. Since 2022 Social Vision has worked with hospitals, clinics and specialists in Cuenca so that a person who needs a procedure, medical assessment or specialist consultation can ask for help. Assistance is reviewed and depends on available funds.

The foundation works directly with local medical professionals to see where the gaps in care are widest in Cuenca, and it puts its funding and its volunteers behind the services that are needed most urgently.

What the program covers, subject to available funds

• Making medical appointments with doctors and healthcare partners in Cuenca
• Help understanding referrals and arranging follow-up appointments
• Specialist consultations, including pediatrics, geriatrics, dermatology, neurology and heart services
• Coordination between the family, the treating doctor and the hospital, from the first appointment to the follow-up visit

Who it is for

People in Cuenca who need necessary medical treatment and cannot pay for it. Older people are often the ones who wait longest: health insurance is a luxury few can afford here, and many who do reach a doctor cannot pay for the prescription they leave with. A request can come from the person, from a family member, or from a doctor, nurse or hospital social worker who is treating them. You can send a request at any time; each request is reviewed when it arrives.

How a decision is made

A coordinator speaks with the family to understand the situation, then confirms the treatment plan and its cost with the treating doctor or the partner hospital. The foundation commits funds only for care a professional has recommended, and only when the money is there. Every request receives an answer. When the foundation cannot help, it says so plainly and, whenever it can, points to someone who may.

Social Vision supports access to care. It is not a hospital, does not employ doctors and does not provide emergency services.

When a case is complex

For complex cases that need specialized intervention, the foundation works to secure the funding, the medical equipment and the clinical partnerships a patient needs, in Cuenca and abroad. For Samantha, that means coordinating her care with specialists in the United States.

What we ask of families

• Honest information about the need and about any other support already in place
• Keeping the appointments the partners arrange, or telling the coordinator early when that is not possible
• Letting us know how things went, so the foundation can learn and report back to donors

Agreeing to appear in a story or a photograph is never a condition of help. Publication happens only with separate, signed consent.

The partners who make it possible

Hospital Monte Sinaí, the foundation’s main hospital partner, Clínica Latino, the doctors of Hospital del Río and the specialists of the foundation’s medical network offer their care at a cost families and the foundation can meet. Their agreement is why a single gift can go so far.