MyLifesavingOximeter: A world of difference in Honduras
For me, an oximeter means a world of difference. All of our patients have their lives saved by having an oximeter,” Dr. Geraldina Gross of Mario Catarino Rivas Hospital in Honduras told Lifebox.
Dr. Geraldina Gross is Head of Anesthesia at the largest hospital in Honduras. Dr. Gross is working closely with Lifebox to strengthen surgery and anesthesia safety in Central America with support from the IZUMI Foundation. Her hospital received a pulse oximeter and Lifebox has since shipped 133 additional oximeters to the region as part of our COVID-19 response.
“My hospital usually performed around 1,200 surgeries a month in pre-COVID times. Monitors are not replaced once they deteriorate. Unfortunately, our healthcare system is not focused on preventive maintenance. So with the number of patients we provide care for, the medical equipment will deteriorate. Having a Lifebox oximeter for us has been vital for the above, since it allows us to continue doing surgeries.”
Dr. Gross with a Lifebox Pulse Oximeter from Hunduras
Dr. Gross with a Lifebox Pulse Oximeter at Mario Catarino Rivas Hospital, San Pedro Sula, Honduras
Dr. Gross told Lifebox about how a pulse oximeter can help detect many different problems while monitoring patients: “All of our patients have their lives saved by having an oximeter. If they are poorly intubated, if they are obstructed, if you have bronchospasm, a severe allergic reaction, etc., it would not be possible to detect it without the help of a pulse oximeter.”
Throughout Central America and the rest of the world, there are still operating rooms lacking this essential monitoring device.That is why we need you to chip in and make sure anesthesia providers can safely care for their patients like Dr. Gross. Make a donation to Lifebox so that we can put more oximeters where they are needed.