Physical Health Cuba Project #12012

Hurricane Sandy Relief for Santiago, Cuba

by Global Links

Project Report | Mar 24, 2015
YOU helped Santiago recover from disaster-Gracias!

By Angela Garcia | Deputy Director

Global Links Bed Donation

Since November 2012, YOU allowed Global Links to ramp up our efforts to help the hospitals and clinics in the second largest city in Cuba recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. Your support allowed us to quickly respond in the beginning with large shipments of healthworker protective gear, soap and key medical supplies essential to daily hospital services.Your support allowed us to help the Gustavo Machin Psychiatric Hospital re-open after the evacuation and resulting damage due to the storm. Your support allowed us to provide hundreds of beds and mattresses to replace those damaged in the storm, or the makeshift mattresses that were in use. By helping in this way, risk of infections were lowered and patients had safer and more appropriate surfaces on which to heal. Your support allowed us to furnish primary care examination rooms that had been closed due to the damage incurred, upgrade a dialysis center, support continued medical studies with medical journals and other printed material, and more.

As we close this project, we wanted to recognize each of you for all you have contributed that allowed us to do so much in the past 2 years. Global Links continues to work in Cuba, in Santiago, and in other areas of the country. We hope you'll consider supporting a new project we will be launching on Global Giving in the second quarter of this year. The project, being developed in conjunction with Cuban health authorities, is called Breathe Hope, and it seeks to improve asthma treatment options through the provision of nebulizers (or breathing machines) for use by children and seniors. Read more about Breathe Hope on our website: http://www.globallinks.org/breathe_hope.php

Global Links recognized by Cuban health authority

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Dec 31, 2014
Can you help us meet goals #2 and #3?

By Marisol Wandiga Valentin | Program Manager

Dra. Rafaela, Vice-Director of Psy. Hospital

Two more shipments to Santiago de Cuba left the Global Links warehouse the week of Thanksgiving. Our Hurricane Sandy Relief Project continues and we need your support to achieve 5 key objectives by the end of 2015:

These objectives are:

1) Replacing 25% of the adult beds in 6 main hospitals in the province. Providing improved mattresses made of materials that reduce bed sores and with proper linings to lessen infection spread through contaminated surfaces.

2) Increase the number of functioning operating rooms in the 6 main hospitals that are our focus. Many ORs have been rebuilt but need anesthesia machines, OR tables, and other key medical components to before they can open.

3) Improve the basic laboratory microscopes so the province can increase the number of clinical diagnostics it provides on a daily basis.

4) Strengthen the bibliographic material at the province Universidad de Ciencias Medicas which lost key bibliographical books and journals following Hurricane Sandy.

5) Provide dialysis chairs to replace outdated equipment in the dialysis rooms.

With these last two shipments, we were able to accomplish goal #5 by providing Hospital General Dr. Juan Bruno Zayas and Hospital Provincial Saturnino Lora with 18 dialysis chairs, new wheelchair scales, and over 100 boxes of nephrology supplies that will allow the hospitals to improve patient comfort and improve processes. Special thanks to Davita / Bridge of Life Foundation for their support of this project.

We also began work on goal #4 with the shipment of the first batch of books to the Universidad de Ciencias Medicas in Santiago. Books sent focused on neonatal care, gynecology and obstetrics and structural and physical pathology.

Furnishings and supplies were also included to help the main Psychiatric Hospital, Gustavo Machin (which was heavily damaged),update and strengthen its capacity.

Prior shipments have almost completed goal #1. With 13 containers of medical aid (valued at $1,306,062.30) shipped since the start of the project, your support has made a profound and measurable difference in the recovery efforts of all of the hospitals in Santiago.

Can you make a tax-deductible donation at the end of 2014 so we can kick-off 2015 by making progress on goals #2 and #3? We will be closing this project in March of 2015 so we ask that you please consider one last donation to the important and very successful project.

Together we have accomplished so much since the start of this project, let's work together again to make sure it has a strong end. Thank you for your generous support.

Thank you,

Marisol Wandiga Valentin
Global Links Program Manger for the Caribbean Region

Hospital Juan Bruno Zayas

New Beds at Hospital Saturnino Lora

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Sep 11, 2014
Halfway to the goal with much work ahead of us

By Maura O'Neill | Development Manager

Dialysis nurse in Saturnino

Our most recent shipments to Cuba continue Global Links’ project to support the healthcare infrastructure in Santiago as it continues to recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy.

Because of your generosity, Global Links has been able to provide 11 containers of aid materials with a value of US$1,120,680.40.

Our financial goal to complete this project is $50,000 and we're happy to say that we are half way toward meeting it! Raising the remaining $25,000 will enable us to accomplish key objectives by the end of 2015.

These objectives are:

1) Replacing 25% of the adult beds in the 6* main hospitals that are our focus. Providing improved mattresses made of materials that reduce bed sores and with proper linings to lessen infection spread through contaminated surfaces.

3) Improve the basic laboratory microscopes so the province can increase the number of clinical diagnostics it provides on a daily basis.

4) Strengthen the bibliographic material at the province Universidad de Ciencias Medicas which lost key bibliographical books and journals following Hurricane Sandy.

5) Provide Dialysis Chairs to replace outdated equipment in the dialysis rooms (pic of outdated equipment attached)

Much of the materials needed to meet these objectives must be purchased by Global Links some items are not commonly available through our recovery process. We must work with vendors who focus on equipment for low-resource settings and partner with hospitals outside of our normal catchment area to ensure that the equipment and materials will be put into use immediately and that they can have a long life of service in the hospitals.

Your continued support is needed now more than ever. When you give to help us meet these long-term objectives you’re helping to strengthen the entire health system. Your support at the beginning of this project set the stage for real, sustained relief and rebuilding in Santiago.

Please let the caring and concern that fueled your first gift for Santiago be the foundation for another donation. Join us in taking the long view on this project by making a gift today. Invest in this proven process of Sharing Surplus and Saving Lives.

Thank you.

* Focus hospitals:
Hospital Juan Bruno Zayas
Hospital Saturnino Lora y Cardiocentro Provincial
Hospital Psiquiátrico Gustavo Machín
Hospital Ambrosio Grillo
Hospital Pediatrico Sur
Hospital Pediátrico Juan de la Cruz

Life goes on in Santiago

Mattresses for Cuba

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