About us
WE ARE FUNDACIÓ
The Fundació Oftalmedic Salvà (formerly known as Fundació Bona Llum Oftalmedic) is an initiative promoted by the Mallorcan ophthalmologist Luis Salvá Ladaria, who began his activity in the field of social action in 1998 with a double objective.
On the one hand, to meet the visual health needs of the most disadvantaged people and groups, whose economic resources are limited and/or do not have medical coverage.
On the other hand, to raise awareness in society about the importance of prevention in eye diseases and especially in blindness, since three quarters of cases can be reversible or treatable.
Access to the ophthalmological and optometric care that we provide through our action programmes is possible thanks to the solidarity and altruistic commitment of the Oftalmedic Salvà group, which has been making its capabilities and all the means at its disposal for more than 20 years.
Their vocation to provide care to the most needy and the improvement of their quality of life expresses their way of understanding medicine as a professional practice where the human dimension is an intrinsic and inalienable value.
On many occasions, being able to have proper eye health care is key to facing the future opportunities that arise in life with better guarantees, since certain eye conditions can invalidate those who suffer from them to enjoy a normal life.
In the particular case of children, the relationship between their visual training and their learning process is especially evident, especially in the first years of life until the development of their vision system is completed around the age of 7-8.
The Oftalmedic Salvà Foundation is registered with number 115 in the Register of Foundations of the Ministry of the Presidency of the Government of the Balearic Islands.
Greetings from the President
25 years distributing “looks”
In 2023, the Oftalmedic Salvà Foundation is celebrating. It is 25 years since we launched a pioneering initiative in Mallorca aimed at the most disadvantaged groups, with two very clear objectives…
Elena Palomeque Castaño
President of the Oftalmedic Salvà Foundation
… On the one hand, we pay attention to the visual health of those who suffer from economic difficulties and do not have any health coverage, so that they can benefit from rigorous and quality medical care.
On the other hand, we promote the importance of preventing blindness through the exercise of adequate preventive medicine, as well as the organization of different informative activities. Not surprisingly, the current statistics show worrying data, since it is estimated that there are 39 million blind people in the world and, in Spain alone, around 700,000 are deprived of our most valuable sense.
From the beginning, we understood that Fundació Oftalmedic Salvà had to carry out its work hand in hand with solvency entities that, in addition, had the most complete knowledge of the person and their social reality in each of the areas of action.
This work of accompaniment has allowed us to understand in depth the problems that had to be faced in order to be able to guide and organize our work effectively.
“Challenges that allow us to do our bit”
As a result of this collective effort, our “Miradas” are born. This is the name given to each of the projects we carry out both in Mallorca and in developing countries.
Without a doubt, this foundation would not have been possible without the invaluable support that, on an ongoing basis, the Oftalmedic Salvà group of ophthalmology clinics gives us. Thanks to the dedication and vocation of the professional team of volunteers that has been formed over this time – I am referring to ophthalmologists, optometrists, nursing staff and all those people involved in the day-to-day of Oftalmedic Salvà – we have all been able to make a shared dream come true.
Her extraordinary contribution to the service of solidarity makes me personally proud as president of this foundation and stimulates me to continue moving towards new challenges. Challenges that allow us to contribute our “grain of sand” to improve the quality of life of many people who really need it and to whom we feel highly committed.
In this sense, I would not like to miss the opportunity that this platform gives me to thank the Foundation for the privilege of being able to live first-hand the experience of helping others every day. In short, to create an inseparable link between solidarity and the practice of medicine.
To the extent that we achieve this identification with the people we care for and truly understand the conditioning factors of their visual health, we are better prepared to adapt our response to each particular circumstance.
We know that we cannot drastically modify situations of need, sometimes dramatic, but we have the satisfaction of continuing to distribute “looks” for many more years.
Organizational structure
The foundation has a board of trustees, an executive committee and a medical and advisory committee.
The Board of Trustees is the collegiate body that represents and administers the Oftalmedic Salvà Foundation.
The Executive Committee, by delegation of the Board of Trustees, is responsible for the management of the Foundation.
The Medical and Advisory Committee, which is made up of professionals from the medical and business fields, contributes its technical knowledge in the development and implementation of the Foundation’s projects and programmes.
The members of the Board of Trustees are:
- Ms. Elena Palomeque Castaño, president and member of the Executive Committee.
- Mr. Bartolomé Camps Sastre, Vice-President and member of the Executive Committee.
- Ms. María Victoria Feliu Morales, secretary and member of the Executive Committee.
- Mr. Gabriel Roig Amengual, treasurer.
- Dr. Luis Salvà Ladaria, member and director of the Medical and Advisory Committee (ophthalmologist).
- Mr. Manuel Palomino Chacón, member and member of the Medical and Advisory Committee.
- Ms. Demelsa Pérez López, member.
- Ms. Mª Antonia Salvà Palomeque, member.
- Ms. Teresa Salvà Palomeque, member.
- Mr. Pedro Salvà Palomeque, member.
- Mr. José Lupiáñez Fernández, member.
- Ms. Belén Sánchez Poveda, member.
Collaborators
The work that we have been developing since our beginnings, mainly at the local level (Mallorca), is possible thanks to the committed and selfless work of the professionals of the Oftalmedic Salvà group and the volunteer staff, as well as the indispensable support of various entities.
