As the isolation unit at the Princess Alexandra Hospital remains at high alert for cases of the coronavirus, the Health Authority of Anguilla received a supply of medical equipment on Wednesday, April 8, from the Anguilla Youth Sports Foundation.
Head of the Foundation, Anguillian Mr. Thomas Kelly, who normally resides in New York, is currently on the island. In presenting the medical supplies, he said the Foundation was formed 15 years ago to promote sports on the island but was also involved in other aspects of assistance to Anguilla.
“Today, we are donating medical supplies to the hospital through our affiliation with MATTER, which is a large medical NGO based in Minnesota which provides health assistance to many countries,” Mr. Kelly told media representatives and health personnel. “We havehad some conversations with individuals who make up the Health Authority here in Anguillaand we are looking forward to bringing them some more supplies.”
The supplies were Fedexed to Anguilla last week and were received on Monday, this week.The supplies comprised some five thousand gloves, 120 N95 masks, a number of gowns and hospital-grade sanitisers. “We hear that the N95 masks are like gold in Anguilla so we will make sure to bring some more of that gold to the island next week,” Kelly further stated.
“Through the Anguilla Youth Sports Foundation, along with the help of Andre Collins and Delano Mussington, of the Department of Sports, the supplies were cleared by Customs so that we could present them to the Health Authority today.”
Mr. Kelly was accompanied at the brief presentation ceremony by other Foundation members, Mr. Courtney Morton and Mr. Javier Brooks. Another key member, Mr. Brent Warner, was at work at the time.
Asked what the cost of the medical supplieswas, Mr. Kelly replied: “I have no idea what the price is but we are just happy that MATTER was able to donate them. With our affiliation,we are going to make some more calls and willmake sure that the hospital has enough stock for a couple of months.”
Commenting on the donation, the CEO of the Health Authority, Mrs. Maeza Demis-Adams,said: “I want to thank the Foundation for its generous donation. This gold, as you call it, is very precious to us at this time and we really appreciate it because we have been trying to source some. The equipment is going to be usedas a protective mechanism when doctors and nurses are providing care for clients. We will have the supplies in stock at the isolation unit and it will be easily accessible and ready at hand to use.”
She continued: “The Health Authority is on a mission to stockpile personal protective equipment for staff for a 6-9 months’ supply. Persons would be aware that throughout the world there is a shortage of medical supplies. Based on our location and the logistics of getting supplies, make it even more difficult for small islands, like ours, and so every donation is valuable – whether it is one box or many boxes. And so we really appreciate this initiative and good will gesture and we look forward to continued collaboration with Mr. Kelly and the Anguilla Youth Sports Foundation.”
Asked about the N95 masks, the Health Authority’s CEO added: “Any person presenting to any of the health facilities with respiratory symptoms, we will have to treat them as someone with potential covid-19 and N 95 masks are going to be needed for months on end. Persons think about covid-19 for the next couple of weeks, but we have to think about covid-19 until there is a vaccine or treatment. That is because the next flu season will soon be upon us in November when we are going to see a number of persons presenting with respiratory symptoms again. In a strategic approach we areensuring that Anguillians are protected; and sowe welcome all the protective equipment we can get.”
