Hospital in Djibouti Saves More Lives

The Peltier Hospital in Djibouti had a major problem. It wasn't a problem of being under staffed, they have an outstanding doctor to patient ratio. Nor was it problem with the expertise of the staff. The highly competent physicians were trained in France.

The problem was that they did not have much to work with.

The Peltier Hospital lacked "high tech" equipment to meet the needs of the large number of patients. They only had 4 monitoring systems for their ICU and the newly remodeled Cardiology Department. With Rotary participation, Assist International bumped the number from 4 to 24 monitors. The project lifted the hospital to a new level of healthcare.

The equipment provided is necessary for saving the lives of critically ill patients. It also brought a spirit of peace and understanding between our two countries.

Hospital National in Mali receives monitors

The Hospital National DU Point G in Mali is large. Located in the capital city of Bamako, it is the only teaching and referral hospital in Mali. The Intensive Care Unit has 700 beds alone. However, there were only two working cardiac monitors for the whole department. With so many people dying from a lack of care, many patients referred to the intensive care room as "room of death". That changed this year.

With GE's generous donation of 17 new monitors, Assist International installed a fully equipped ICU as well as a new portable X-ray, a new ultrasound, a large supply of medical supplies and four wheelchairs.

The hospital staff was so grateful for this rare donation of NEW equipment that will serve them for many years. Now patients can refer to it as a "room of life".

For more information or to get involved, visit http://www.assistinternational.com/

Tanzania hospital receives upgrade

The Buganda medical center in Tanzania received cardiac care equipment and bed side monitors that were donated by General Electric. It was a team effort of Rotary International members, Salinas Valley Hospital staff, GE assistants and Assist International.

“It was pretty phenomenal to see what was done,” said Sam Downing, president of Salinas Valley Hospital. “All the monitors were installed and ready to go in one week. It would take four months to do that in the United States.”

Patients at Buganda medical center do not share the same luxuries as patients do in the U.S. The sickest ones receive a bed and maybe a single blanket. In all, 25 volunteers worked around the clock to do everything from install the new monitors to repainting rooms. The end result was a first class intensive care unit.

“When you do a project in a place like this, you want to do it quickly because you know it will save lives,” stated Bob Pagett of Assist International. “We want to provide the people and the children of this country with a chance to live a normal life.”

Cardiac monitors delivered to Sri Lanka

Members of Salinas Valley Healthcare Hospital teamed with Assist International and Rotary International to donate medical equipment in two hospitals in Sri Lanka. Following the Asain tsunami, Sri Lanka has been slow to recover. Many buildings still lay in ruins, the country is plagued with civil war and the healthcare is out of date. Much of the medical equipment in the public hospitals of Sri Lanka is archaic and sometimes not even functional.

Bob Pagett of Assist International called Salinas Valley.

“You go to your trusted friends," Said Pagett. “Of all the hospitals that I know of and the relationships that we have, Salinas Valley Healthcare is one of the first that I would go to.”

Salinas Valley Healthcare answered the call and sent a 7 person team to transport and install vital cardiac monitors. Now hospitals in Columbo and Ratnapura have state-of-the-art monitors for the people of Sri Lanka that would otherwise die waiting for a simple heart surgery.

Projects of this magnitude are rarely easy. Transporting large heart monitors half way around the world can present a unique obstacle. There are negotiations with government officials and language barriers. There are land mines.

Hazardous conditions aside, lives in Sri Lanka were saved and everyone involved with the trip found the experience life changing.

“Working with Assist International is one of the best experiences I have had,” said Brad Carrot, Director of Biomedical Services at Salinas Valley. “They take on a project and they see it through from start to finish, from donating the equipment to training and teaching the staff.”