A meeting was held at the General Inspectorate of Military Health between Gianni Profita, Rector of UniCamillus, and Lieutenant General Carlo Catalano, Inspector General of the Italian Military Health Service. The event was an opportunity for institutional dialogue and academic collaboration, with a focus on the inter-university CPD course Management of Skin and Complex Wounds, which was set up jointly by UniCamillus University and the University of Tor Vergata, and which also includes the Rome ‘Celio’ Military Hospital—a reference centre for training and health care in the military sector.
The meeting took place in the Inspectorate’s library, where Lieutenant General Carlo Catalano highlighted the fundamental role of military health in the Italian NHS. “Medical personnel in uniform have always taken care of soldiers’ wounds”, said Lieutenant General Catalano. He then highlighted the Military Health Service’s ability to respond to emergencies on land, at sea and in the air. “Health and defence go hand in hand”, he added, recalling how cooperation between civilian and military health had been strengthened, particularly during the pandemic, when the Policlinico Militare created its own Covid hospital with 150 emergency beds and supported facilities such as the Spallanzani Hospital. A synergy between the two systems was promoted at the time, demonstrating the complementarity and effectiveness of working together to guarantee the right to health, in accordance with Article 32 of the Italian Constitution.
Patient-centred healthcare was at the heart of the meeting, reflecting the vision of UniCamillus University, inspired by Saint Camillus De Lellis, the pioneer of modern care. That is an approach that puts the person at the centre and adapts care not only to their pathology but also to their humanity. Recognising in Lieutenant General Catalano’s words this compassionate spirit at the service of others, Rector Profita then went on to highlight the humanitarian mission of UniCamillus, pointing out the similarities with the solidarity vocation of the Military Health Service. He recalled the University’s many international projects, including the agreement with the Libyan Centre for Emergency Medicine and support for a course in war medicine, the ITESHS project for health training in Somalia, and medical missions to Benin and Burkina Faso. He also highlighted UniCamillus’s commitment in Italy, with dental care initiatives for children in some of Rome’s suburban schools and specialist check-ups for the homeless in collaboration with the Vatican. “The Italian Military Health Service is not war-mongering, but a wonderful example of peace and foreign policy. I see in this the vision of UniCamillus, which, with its humanitarian mission, contributes to the training of health professionals in the most fragile environments”, said the Rector.
The meeting ended with an exchange of symbolic gifts, underlining the increasingly successful collaboration between the academic and military sectors. Rector Profita signed the Book of Honour of the General Inspectorate of the Italian Military Health Service and received a commemorative plaque, while UniCamillus offered Lieutenant General Catalano a tie in the University’s colours and the book ‘S. Giacomo degl’Incurabili di Roma nel Cinquecento’, which is set in the period when the ‘master of the house’ was Saint Camillus de Lellis.
The meeting was also attended by Colonel Cosimo Calabro, Chief of the Special Secretary, Colonel Maurizio Elisio, Head of the Health Policy and Organisation Department, Colonel Francesco Spadolini, Head of the General Coordination Office, Colonel Giuseppe Marchi, head of the Health Policy Office, Colonel Francesco Rumbolo, Head of the Health Organisation Section, Colonel Gabriele Piccioni, Head of the International Activities Office, Captain Daniele Mastrantoni, Aide-de-champ to the Inspector General, and Professor Barbara Tavazzi, President of UniCamillus’s MSc Medicine and Surgery programme.