Following the launch of the compression education programme in Chile last year, the URGO Foundation launched the 2025 edition of Misión Compresión in La Serena, a city in northern Chile, on 12 June 2025.
The event gathered 42 healthcare professionals play a key role in identifying and managing venous ulcers early.
Improve education and access around compression therapy
Dr. Cristian Salas del Campo, a vascular surgeon and a leading national expert in phlebology and lymphology, has led a full-day educational workshop including lectures and hands-on sessions on venous ulcers and compression therapy.
The programme encouraged active participation and featured the presentation of local experiences to support the creation of a nationwide network of trained professionals who are confident in applying compression therapy.
To tackle wound care disparities
In Chile, the URGO foundation has a global objective of reducing disparities in wound care between regions and professionals. To this end, the event was held in La Serena, a city in the north of Chile, to give professionals in remote and underserved northern regions the opportunity to participate more easily.
The event also reached diversity by inviting different healthcare professionals, ranging from primary care nurses, general practitioners and family doctors to nurses from outpatient hospital clinics.
Finally, the URGO Foundation partnered with the University of Chile, the University of Concepción, and the Santo Tomás University. Influential professors from medical courses participated in order to share their knowledge with their students later on.
And heal better 100,000 Chilean
Although international data suggests that around 100,000 people in Chile may be living with venous ulcers, this condition is frequently overlooked or undertreated in the country, particularly within the public primary care system. Limited access to compression therapy remains a significant challenge.
A study led in 2018 by the Instituto Nacional de Heridas and supported by the Chilean Ministry of Health showed that 93% of patients treated with advanced wound care and compression therapy were healed within three months. In contrast, those receiving traditional care experienced no healing and, in some cases, a worsening of the ulcer.
By training healthcare professionals to identify and manage venous ulcers early on, the URGO Foundation is not only reducing the cost of long-term treatments, which are significantly lower when advanced wound care is introduced but also improving patients’ quality of life.
