Ceremony to the Healthcare Sector
On the evening of November 25, we held a heartfelt tribute to the healthcare sector and the State Security Forces who were on the front lines during the pandemic.
ILUNION Hotels wanted to recognize the efforts made by these professionals with a gala held at the ILUNION Atrium hotel in Madrid. The event was attended by the President of the ONCE Social Group, Miguel Carballeda; the Health Minister of the Community of Madrid, Enrique Ruiz Escudero; and the CEO of ILUNION, Alejandro Oñoro, among other authorities.
Our CEO of ILUNION Hotels, José Ángel Preciados, welcomed the attendees and proudly recalled the role played by the hotel chain during the pandemic: “We made our 28 establishments available to the health authorities, seven of which were ultimately used as medicalized hotels and for housing healthcare personnel.”
José Ángel also highlighted the close collaboration between the chain and the Ramón y Cajal University Hospital during the preparation and operation of the ILUNION Atrium hotel in Madrid as a medicalized facility during the most difficult months of the pandemic, as well as with other public and private entities recognized during the gala.
The Director of the Healthcare and Social Care Sector at ILUNION, Eusebio Azorín, was in charge of hosting the gala and introducing each of the awards. In his speech, he also highlighted the commitment and dedication of the entire healthcare sector.
The first award, for Healthcare Work, was presented to Dr. Marisa Palacios, Director of Care Continuity at the Ramón y Cajal University Hospital, who accepted it on behalf of the healthcare sector from ILUNION’s CEO, Alejandro Oñoro.
The Award for Institutional Commitment was received by Manuel Moreno, Chief Superintendent of the Municipal Police of Ciudad Lineal, and presented by Mónica Parra, Director of the ILUNION Atrium Hotel in Madrid.
The Special ILUNION Hotels Award went to the Madrid Hotel Business Association and was presented by the chain’s CEO, José Ángel Preciados, to the association’s president, Gabriel Alonso.
Patricia Sanz, Vice President of Equality, Human Resources, and Institutional Culture and Digital Inclusion, presented the Award for Individual Effort to Roser Antillach, Supervisor at the Ramón y Cajal University Hospital, who led the medicalization of the ILUNION Atrium.
The President of Grupo Social ONCE, Miguel Carballeda, highlighted the ability of the men and women of the Organization “to always stand by the citizens, especially in moments like the ones we have lived through.” He emphasized that “people know they can count on us—on ONCE, on Fundación ONCE, and on our ILUNION companies—because when they need us, we have proven that we are here to dedicate all our enthusiasm, our effort, and our resources to their service. We owe ourselves to society, and we always strive to give back the solidarity people show us every day by coming closer and placing their trust in us,” he said.
The Regional Minister of Health for the Community of Madrid, Enrique Ruiz Escudero, praised the social commitment demonstrated by ILUNION Hotels and the dedication and effort of healthcare professionals during the pandemic. “Each hotel was linked to a reference hospital. One of them was this one, with the Ramón y Cajal Hospital as its reference. It began operating on April 1, 2020, and closed on May 5. During that time, a hundred professionals cared for 109 patients.”
The tribute concluded with a dinner, where guests enjoyed the first course served “in the dark,” presented and led by the hotel’s director, Mónica Parra. It was a moving event organized by and for those who were on the front lines when society needed them most.
