Espriu Foundation serves more than two million people
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Espriu Foundation serves more than two million people
The Espriu Foundation served a total of 2,298,655 people in 2016, compared with 2,246,966 the previous year, representing an increase of more than 50,000 users. In this regard, the health co-operative’s Director General, Carlos Zarco, emphasised that «we provide healthcare to almost 5% of the Spanish population, a group who contribute their taxes but do not generate any demand for services from the public system, thereby freeing up health resources».
Dr Zarco highlighted that the organisation provided employment for 56,647 professionals, compared with 45,388 in 2015, while likewise mentioning the significant increase in the number of doctors. “The number rose from 38,766 in 2015, to 50,532 in 2016,” he stated.
In 2016, the Espriu’s co-operative network turned over more than 1.741 billion euros, 57 million up on the previous year. Dr Zarco emphasised in this regard that the «World Cooperative Monitor study ranked the Espriu Foundation as the fourth-largest health co-operative network in the world, in terms of its turnover».
The study, produced by the European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises and the International Cooperative Alliance, sponsored by the Espriu Foundation, aims to expand and improve on the information available about co-operatives so as to present a detailed view of their true contribution to social well-being.
Dr Zarco is confident that this year the Foundation and its constituent cooperatives (ASISA, Assistència Sanitària, Lavinia and SCIAS) will maintain this position, since worldwide only ten health co-operatives have an annual turnover of more than 100 million dollars (92.6 million euros).
He similarly highlighted the fact that «cooperatives are sustainable and profitable enterprises», while likewise stressing that «we invest all our profits in our own facilities, which serves to generate wealth, deliver higher-quality care with the very latest equipment, as well as improving our doctors’ salaries. All of which is possible because we do not have to pay out dividends to any shareholders».
