Cornwall Regional gets much-needed incubators

The Cornwall Regional Hospital's (CRH) capacity to care for sick babies and those born prematurely got a significant boost last week when the Rotary Club of Montego Bay Sunrise presented the facility with 10 infant incubators for its paediatric ward.

The equipment, which has a heating system along with tubing to keep babies warm while

monitoring other health concerns, came courtesy of the Rotary Foundation, the monetary arm of the international service organisation. The total cost was valued at approximately $6.5 million.

"Our (Rotary) mission is aligned in many ways with CRH in that both institutions want to improve the world one act at a time," said Manoj Ramchandani, the project chairman of Rotary Club of Montego Bay Sunrise.

Ramchandani, who is also the club's past assistant governor, noted that this donation was possible because of the strong

relationship that exists between the hospital and the Rotary, which also partnered on a revamp project of the hospital's ophthalmology department last year.

"Our only wish is that these incubators are properly used to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of the impact we make in bettering the lives at the hospital," added Manoj.

GREAT TIMING

Dr Carlene Grant-Davis, who heads the hospital's paediatric ward, said the much-needed equipment could not have come at a better time for the hospital.

"We are heading into peak season, which is the period from September to December, where we have the highest population of newborns," said Grant-Davis. "These new incubators will be added to the five good working ones we currently have."

She added: "We use them every day because the babies actually stay in them until they are better, so if a baby comes out at, say, one kilogram, we keep them in the incubator until around the point of 1.5 kg, which is around two to four weeks."

According to Grant-Davis, the incubators are in constant use, because at any one time, there could be eight to 10 new babies who need one.