The Bahamas club teams with a tech company to donate an EKG machine.
Submitted by The Berry Islands Kiwanis Club, Bahamas
It has always been said that “the health of a nation is the wealth of a nation.” However, imagine a small community of approximately 800 residents where immediate and quick medical care is a matter of life or death.
Such was the thought of the Kiwanis Club of The Berry Islands when a young man on one of the islands lost his life to a heart attack. It was discovered that the heart machine in use was outdated, not in good working order and needed to be replaced. Together with Alive Telecommunications Company Limited, the Berry Islands club presented a new, state-of-the-art electrocardiogram (EKG) machine to a local government clinic in Bullock’s Harbour, the capital of The Berry Islands.
“I want to thank the Kiwanis Club of The Berry Islands and Aliv for the gift of the EKG machine,” says Calyne Bellot, nurse supervisor at the Bullock’s Harbour Clinic, during the donation presentation. “It is a meaningful gift, which is not only for the clinic but indeed for the entire Berry Islands community.”
The new machine will enable the clinic to provide critical EKG readings accurately and in a timely manner; hospital staff can instantly see test findings via an easily readable digital screen. This technology was not available on the former machine, which provided paper readings — and many times could not be used due to a lack of paper. And the speed of results is critical.
“It becomes a very good solution, especially in emergency cases — persons who come in with chest pains, persons who have hypertension or need their regular EKG checkups — and so we can actually respond quickly in order to save more lives,” Bellot said at the presentation. “As technology evolves, we need to keep on track with the changing times. Having this machine will definitely assist the clinic in its evolution when it comes to emergency care and, as a result, in saving lives.”
Don Haynes, president of the Kiwanis Club of The Berry Islands, says that the gift exemplifies the kind of service that Kiwanians do every day around the world.
“With so many children suffering from heart disease around the world,” Haynes adds, “it was humbling and amazing that we were able and blessed to birth such an amazing project to assist our local clinic.
“To have to travel from a small Island to the capital of New Providence, which houses the main hospital, means that every minute counts in the fight to save a life. Knowing that we have such an instrument in our small clinic brings a sense of peace and security to patients, parents and the community residents at large. It certainly equips our hard-working medical staff and makes their already difficult job easier.”
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