National Grow Without Waiting Program

It is with great pride that we tell you about the great success of our national program "Growing without Waiting", an initiative that began to be developed in September 2024, in a joint effort between Corporación MATER, the Chilean Society of Pediatric Surgery (SCHCP), the Chilean Society of Anesthesia (SACH) and the Ministry of Health to help reduce the long waiting lists of children throughout Chile, ensuring timely care for those who need it most.

This program was created with the mission of reducing the waiting list for non-GES surgeries for children within a maximum period of three years. Thanks to this collaborative health strategy, hundreds of children and adolescents in different regions of the country have been treated.

This effort has been possible thanks to the collaboration of SKY Airlines and the Vitacura Gliding Club, who facilitate the transportation of the volunteer medical team, allowing the various specialists to travel to attend patients in different parts of the country.

Dr. José Manuel Escala is the founder and president of Corporación Mater. As the organization marks its 30th anniversary, we sat down with him to discuss its origins, its major achievements, and the need to carry this work forward—a conversation in which he also acknowledges and thanks those who have played a vital role along the way.

For the past four years, Constanza Olivares has been the coordinator of highly complex surgical operations carried out by the MATER Corporation throughout Chile. A nurse and midwife by profession, she speaks of her work with conviction and gratitude: "The Corporation has allowed me to develop not only professionally, but also to provide more care to patients. And that, for me, is tremendously satisfying."

Anesthesiologist Virginia Montecinos has just completed ten operations as a volunteer at Corporación Mater. This number speaks to her perseverance, but above all, her conviction. We spoke with her to find out what motivated her to join, what she has learned along the way, and why, in her opinion, volunteering not only transforms the lives of children and their families, but also those who participate in it.

The catalog, designed by artist Angelito Peñaranda, invites companies to give meaningful gifts that support the health of children awaiting medical care in Chile.

We worked hard throughout 2025 to reduce waiting times for children throughout Chile, providing them with adequate, high-quality healthcare.

The work of volunteer doctors is at the heart of Corporación MATER, because it allows us to fulfill our purpose of providing timely, quality healthcare, shortening the wait times for hundreds of children throughout Chile, as well as demonstrating the impact that collaboration can achieve.

National Grow Without Waiting Program

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