Germany

Category: Germany

DFG-Bonitas helps ensure hospital capacity for Covid-19 challenge

Outpatient care provider builds up extra intensive-care capacity to safeguard hospitals.

iPads provided to elderly care homes, helping residents stay in touch with their families during lockdown

Advent portfolio company DFG-Bonitas is Germany’s largest outpatient care supplier. During the first months of the coronavirus outbreak in Europe, the company ramped up capacity in its intensive care groups, helping hospitals keep vital ICU beds free for potential Covid-19 patients.

The German healthcare provider approached hospitals at the start of the outbreak with the offer to increase capacity – making it less likely they would be overwhelmed by any spike in demand caused by the virus.

DFG-Bonitas has also prepared coronavirus care units for its own patients who may become infected with the virus. These specialist units provide separate areas for staff to put on protective equipment and disinfect themselves.

In addition, the company has provided iPads to its elderly care homes, making it easier for residents to stay in touch with their families during the lockdown period.

DFG-Bonitas was formed from a business combination of Deutsche Fachpflege Gruppe – the country’s leading provider of out-of-hospital intensive care – and Bonitas, a nationwide nursing network specializing in outpatient critical care.

Röhm responds to global need for coronavirus protection

In an effort to protect workers at essential businesses such as supermarkets, pharmacies and banks, Röhm has ramped up its production of PLEXIGLAS®.

Employees dedicated to the production of protective screens

Manufactured into screens, PLEXIGLAS® serves as a transparent shield between staff and customers at the point of sale, mitigating the spread of the virus.

Since March, demand for PLEXIGLAS® screens has increased dramatically and is currently up to 10x higher than usual. Röhm has responded by introducing a four shift model working around the clock and dedicating more than 150 employees solely to the production of protective screens. As the largest and integrated producer in mainland Europe with significant operations in the US and China, Röhm is aware of its critical role as a supplier of acrylic sheets to prevent the spread of the virus. Röhm is continuously working on increasing its production capacities in order to support as many customers as possible in protecting their employees and customers, while at the same time ensuring highest safety standards of its own employees.

Going forward, management is confident to be able to offer cost effective protection solutions for various non-essential businesses including restaurants, driving schools, hairdressers and nail studios, but also to increase workplace safety in industrial production and in offices. As such, PLEXIGLAS® may play a role in a safer and thus faster relaxation of the current lock-down measures.

allnex helps partner firm overcome hand sanitizer shortage

Resins company produces vital disinfectant for Germany’s largest intensive care provider.

3,600L

Hand sanitizer to be donated
each month

allnex, an Advent portfolio company based in Frankfurt, Germany, is helping to tackle the country’s acute shortage of hand sanitizers – a vital weapon in the fight against Covid-19.

As the pandemic increased demand for hand sanitizer throughout Europe, the German Chemical Association (VCI) and European Chemical Association (ECHA) encouraged their members to help by supplying sanitizing solution to public healthcare systems and other institutions.

The allnex facility at Hamburg was already manufacturing a hand sanitizing solution to provide for the needs of its own employees, having found it had the right chemicals on site to produce it. The company quickly contacted officials to offer wider support.

allnex established contact with DFG-Bonitas – Germany’s largest outpatient intensive care provider, and also part of the Advent portfolio. DFG-Bonitas explained it was urgently attempting to meet demand for an additional 3,600 liters of hand sanitizer every month, which allnex has now pledged to donate.

The first batch of hand sanitizer destined for DFG-Bonitas – a total of 260 kg – was manufactured, packaged and made ready for shipment on April 1. Internationally, seven further allnex sites have started formulating hand sanitizer both to meet the needs of its employees and donate to local community organizations.

In another initiative, allnex leadership has created a dedicated team to organize a donation plan for its biggest sites to take action in their communities. As part of this plan, each site controls dedicated funds to donate to a local small business of its choice that has been severely economically impacted by the pandemic.

allnex is a leading producer of coating resins and additives for architectural, industrial, protective, automotive and special purpose coatings and inks. With 33 manufacturing facilities, 23 research and technology support centers and five joint ventures, the Group serves customers in over 100 countries.

Frankfurt team sponsors raft of Covid-19 relief efforts

Advent office pledges support to high-impact projects in Germany and around the world.

Charities backed in Frankfurt

The Advent team in Frankfurt is supporting a range of organizations to help people severly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. After a comprehensive deliberation process, the Frankfurt Team has carefully selected a set of local, national and international initiatives and projects which are providing relief in the midst of the crisis.

Ärzte ohne Grenzen is an international humanitarian organization that provides medical assistance to areas facing conflicts, epidemics or disasters. The organization has been at the forefront of healthcare services in less developed nations dealing with the impact of Covid-19. The donation will particularly help Covid-19 relief initiatives in Iraq, India, Brazil, Italy and Greece.

Deutscher Kinderhospizverein supports young people and their families through the trauma of terminal illness. As well as advocating the rights of terminally ill children and young adults, the charity provides practical support in the form of hospices, education and supervised vacations. The Advent donation will help the regional Frankfurt chapter to open a new centre for families in the neighbouring town of Bad Homburg.

Kindernothilfe is a German organization that supports children and families in developing countries around the world who are suffering from the wider societal impact of Covid-19 including domestic violence and food poverty. The Advent donation will support a range of international initiatives.

Die Arche helps children and families in need to improve their living conditions. The offer comprises free educational support, lunch, home-schooling and outdoor activities. Due to the Covid-19 restrictions effective in most German cities, die Arche had to temporarily close their facilities. Advent’s support has enabled die Arche to continue its (remote-) support and care offering, deliver food packages to over 400 families as well as to provide IT equipment for home-schooling activities.

Aktion Deutschland Hilft is an association of 23 German aid organizations, active in more than 100 countries worldwide. It is geared towards providing fast relief when a major catastrophe is declared, such as the current Covid-19 pandemic. Advent’s support will be used to deliver medical assistance to individuals in need without health insurance in Germany.

The Goethe-Corona-Fund was established by the Goethe University and the University Hospital Frankfurt in March 2020. The donation will help to provide equipment and training for intensive care units, to fund critical virology research and develop urgently needed expertise in Covid-19 patient care.

Deutsche Depressionshilfe offers psychological assistance for people with depression – many of whom are unable to consult therapists during the coronavirus shutdown. Its online program already provides more than 12,000 patients with help and guidance, and Advent’s support has enabled the charity to recruit an interim project coordinator.

Operating internationally, The Brooke is committed to the welfare of working animals and the communities that depend on them. Via the donations, Advent’s Frankfurt team assists emergency work in India and Ethiopia, where brick-kiln workers and their horses have been left destitute by the Covid-19 crisis.

Strassenengel Hanau is an important initiative for homeless people, providing them with food, hygiene products and medical care, and helping them re-establish lives in the community. Its outreach work is a vital lifeline during the pandemic, while many facilities aimed at those on the streets are temporarily unavailable.

Advent is providing support to an additional twelve organizations and initiatives. They are Teestube Jona, a facility for homeless people; Sanktionsfrei, providing one-off financial support for families in need; Aktion “Wir Gegen Corona”, a neighbourhood initiative against Covid-19; Humane Society International, a global animal welfare organization; Tiertafel Berlin, offering aid for deprived families and their pets in Berlin/Germany; Opel Zoo, in nearby Kronberg im Taunus, Germany; Papageno Musiktheater, a local theatre that produces shows for children; Initiative Musik, a fund that supports musicians who cannot perform due to Covid-19; FeM Mädchenhaus, advice centres and safe houses for vulnerable women; German Doctors, healthcare and medical trainings by volunteer doctors; Perspektiven e.V., an advice centre for mentally ill, addicted and physically impaired parents and their children; and NePals e.V., a charity providing food parcels to mountain villages in Nepal.