OUR STORY
Villa Beretta was built in 1946 as a small general hospital run by the Congregazione delle Suore Infermiere dell’Addolorata and, in 1959, following the polio epidemic, was converted into a rehabilitation centre for persons affected by poliomyelitis. Right from the beginning, an overall personal approach was adopted, combining physiotherapy sessions with functional surgical operations, and equal attention was paid to study and vocational training to facilitate the patients’ reintegration into society. The cardinal principle of rehabilitation medicine is already clear: not just to treat disability and illness but to care for the person as a whole.
Since the seventies, Villa Beretta had to meet the growing need for the care of disabilities caused by traumatic or vascular injuries, as well as by genetic disorders of the nervous system. From 1985 onwards, through revolutionary methods, such as home non-invasive mechanical ventilation, the hospital has contributed to innovate and improve the efficacy of the treatment of respiratory problems caused by neuromuscular diseases, such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy or spinal muscle atrophy.
The nineties saw the establishment of important partnerships and significant technological and engineering developments, which, in 1995, materialized in the institution of the Bioengineering centre, in collaboration with the Politecnico di Milano. At the same time, through the consolidated relationship with the head physician, Dr. Alberto Lissoni, the Unione Italiana Lotta alle Distrofie Muscolari (UILDM) established scholarships for doctors and engineers working at Villa Beretta. Further impetus was given by the newly created Fondazione Telethon Foundation, which supports numerous scientific projects, associated in particular with the treatment of respiratory disorders. In the same period, the rehabilitation hospital established an important collaboration with the Istituto Neurologico C. Besta in Milan, which gave access to new methods of care through implantable neuromodulation systems such as the intrathecal bacloflen pump and deep brain stimulation.
In 1996 some local businessmen including Luigi Agrati, Giovanni Battista Limonta and Eufrasio Anghileri set up the Fondazione Valduce with a view to sustaining and promoting research aimed at the development of new technologies applicable to rehabilitation, in particular for the recovery of nervous system injuries. From that moment on and for all the coming years, Villa Beretta has continued to grow, study, innovate and provide care thanks to the precious economic support of the Valduce Foundation.
In 2004, inspired by the Congregation’s mission and led by the clinical direction of Dr. Franco Molteni, Villa Beretta invested increasingly in the synergism between Rehabilitation medicine and technology. Today, this combination takes shape in several relationships of collaboration, with the Politecnico di Milano, the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia based in Genoa, the Istituto di Biorobotica di Pisa and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, as well as with numerous startups and pharmaceutical companies. Great attention is also paid to innovation in the study of neurophysiology and the biology of cognitive-motor control systems, which has enabled new neurophysiological investigations and innovative diagnostic methods in the biological field, such as gut microbiota analysis, to become a part of clinical practice.
Villa Beretta Rehabilitation Innovation Institute, the research and innovation institute dedicated to rehabilitation medicine, which will be working alongside and supporting the therapeutic activities of Villa Beretta, is the natural evolution of this biotech trend.
Siamo il Presidio di Medicina Riabilitativa dell’Ospedale Valduce
Via Nazario Sauro, 17 – 23845 Costa Masnaga (LC)
Tel. 031.8544211
E-mail: costa.ammin@valduce.it
E-mail: segreteria@vbrrii.it
