Isolation unit for Covid-19 patients receives portable ultrasound devices

by Linda Straker

• SGU donated portable Butterfly iQ ultrasound devices to conduct lung scans
• 9-bed isolation ward completed
• Johncrow Alexander and his group donated a 40-foot container of medical supplies

St George’s University (SGU) has donated 2 pocket-sized Butterfly iQ devices which will be used in the isolation facility set up to take care of coronavirus patients who need to be admitted for medical care.

Lung ultrasounds using the Butterfly iQ have been proven effective in detecting pulmonary involvement and avoiding cross-contamination in confirmed or suspected Covid-19 patients. The devices will be used to scan the lungs of those who are suspected or confirmed as to be suffering from the ailment which has infected millions and killed thousands worldwide.

“The machines from SGU would help us check our patients with Covid-19 at the bedside and not have them have to go up for an x-ray,” said a post on the Ministry of Health Facebook page specially set up to provide outreach educational information to the general public.

It is understood that radiologists at the General Hospital have trained doctors who care for patients in the isolation ward where construction was recently completed, and the keys handed over to the Hospital Administrator.

The new 9-bed isolation ward will be the area where Covid-19 patients who need medical care will be treated. It became a reality through a collaborative effort involving several partners collaborating with the Ministry of Health. These include the contractor whose team of workers undertook complete refurbishment of the building as well as the maintenance, biomedical, housekeeping, nurses and doctors’ department at the General Hospital.

Other partners include Johncrow Alexander and Friends of a Healthy Grenada in New York, Patricia Marshall, Courts, and Hubbard’s.

Alexander and his group donated a 40-foot container of medical supplies, not because of the coronavirus, but because it was in the making for a long time. “The container happened to arrive at a time when the coronavirus is the focus in the medical world, but we spent almost an entire year putting it together,” said Alexander.

“It left Brooklyn in February and arrived in Grenada in early March just around the same time that the government began its aggressive preparation to combat Covid-19, so we are extremely happy that our donation is helping with this cause,” Alexander said.

As of 6 April, Grenada got the go-ahead to begin conducting Covid-19 tests on the island in a partnership that also involved SGU, the Caribbean Public Health Agency (Carpha), the Windward Islands Research and Education Foundation (Windref), and Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).