The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

PRINCESS Margaret Hospital has received about $22,000 worth of medical equipment and supplies from Rotary organisations in The Bahamas and North Texas, including an incubator for its neonatal services.

The donation from Rotary International District 5810 and local Rotary clubs also included wheelchairs, crutches, wound-care supplies and three boxes of other medical supplies.

PMH administrator Devard Bastian said the equipment was important to the hospital and would support clinicians in providing care to patients, with the incubator earmarked specifically for the neonatal service area.

The donation was facilitated through the Public Hospitals Authority Foundation, which hospital officials credited with connecting the needs of public healthcare facilities with organisations and individuals willing to provide assistance.

Regina Edwards, a past district governor of Rotary International District 5810, said the donation resulted from cooperation between Rotary organisations in North Texas and The Bahamas.

“We're very honoured to be here in the Bahamas,” Ms Edwards said, “and we really appreciate our partners here on the island, and we are very, very grateful for this partnership.”

She said collaboration between clubs to complete projects reflected Rotary International’s mission.

“In this donation,” Ms Edwards said, “we have a incubator and a lot of wound supplies, and wheelchairs, and crutches, and things like that.”

She said the organisation hoped the equipment would benefit the community.

Hospital officials said partnerships with community organisations and individuals help strengthen the resources available to clinicians and improve patient care.

Mr Bastian encouraged businesses and community organisations interested in assisting PMH to work through the PHA Foundation rather than independently providing equipment.

He said prospective corporate partners could contact Alana Major, the PHA’s Director of Foundations, Corporate and Community Relations.

Hospital administrators, clinicians, stakeholders and employees who would ultimately use proposed equipment would then be involved in discussions about prospective donations, he said.

Mr Bastian said that process is intended to ensure equipment offered to PMH is appropriate for the hospital’s needs and that sufficient space is available to accommodate it.

The latest donation was valued at approximately $22,000.