The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on Tuesday, August 10, 2021, received some medical devices and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) from a US-based-Ghanaian family and their friends.
The donation spearheaded by Shirley Simmons Charway, told the media, the initiative was motivated “Due to the wonderful care and support that we received at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis, MO, where the doctors and nurses went above and beyond to ensure we received exceptional care, were well informed about the plan of care and made our stay very comfortable, we decided to choose another NICU to give back to.
According to Shirley, as part of the first birthday celebration of her second daughter, Elma, who was born at 30 weeks gestation (due to being diagnosed with preeclampsia with severe features at 29 weeks) and spent 57 days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis, MO, with her family and friends they have raised funds to support the NICU at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, Ghana.
Shirley says she was supported by her friends and family on GoFundme to raise $2,500 which was used to purchase Pulse Oximeters, latex and latex free gloves, vein finders, thermometers, thermometer probe covers, electronic and manual neonatal blood pressure monitors, neonatal stethoscopes and baby clothing. Shirley’s family also made a $1,000 cash donation to the NICU.
She added that the funds raised couldn’t purchase all items listed when she reached out to Korle BU NICU, which included Cardiorespiratory monitors, Vein Finders, Pulse oximeters, Bilirubinometers, Gloves (Sterile & Non-sterile), Thermometers, Nasal tubes, Nasogastric/ Feeding tubes, Phototherapy/ Firefly, Gauge 26 IV Cannulae, Endotracheal tube, Neonatal Blood pressure monitors, Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (Bubble CPAP), Radiant warmer, Dosiflows, among others.
In an interview with Dr Glova, a paediatrician at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital’s NICU, she expressed her gratitude to the family for their kind gestures to support babies and their mothers at the NICU and called on other stakeholders to also bring in their quota.
