“On behalf of the Luksic Foundation, I want to inform you that we have decided, once again, to support the Telethon, with a contribution of 2 billion pesos,” said Paola Luksic Fontbona in a letter sent to Mario Kreutzberger, in which she also stressed that the Telethon is “a tremendous challenge that makes Chileans proud and unites them”.
Additionally, the president of the Luksic Foundation valued the progress of the new Teleton Institute center in the city of Antofagasta, which is about to open its doors to thousands of children from Antofagasta and the north of the country.
“Over the years, and especially since the construction of the new institute in Antofagasta, we have come to know very closely the effort made by the entire team of professionals at Teleton and we have seen their passion for helping the children who need it most,” said Paola Luksic in her letter.
The new center
The center is located on land donated by the Municipality of Antofagasta, in the northern part of the city – between Francisco Puelma and Oficina Carmela streets, in the area popularly known as “La Chimba” – and its construction was made possible through a $10 billion donation from the Luksic family.
The new building will replace the existing Teleton center in that city, which was inaugurated in 1981 and which, with the passage of time, has become insufficient for the needs of Antofagasta and the Norte Grande. The new center has 3,000 mt2 and will be able to serve twice the number of patients in the region and its surroundings, with a projected 40 years of operation.
The equipment of the new center includes state-of-the-art technology in rehabilitation processes, such as a walking laboratory, multisensory rooms, a therapeutic pool and technological equipment that will allow the use of telerehabilitation as a remote care tool, among other elements. In addition, its features include energy efficiency criteria -solar photovoltaic and solar thermal energy-, recycling of drinking water and efficient lighting.
The new building also includes an inclusive park, multi-pitches and an auditorium that will be open to the Antofagasta community as a way of encouraging the development of sports, art, culture and family activities.