Accra, July 1, GNA- Students of the Weber State University in Hamilton, USA on Saturday presented medical supplies valued at over 100,00 dollars to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and four other health institutions in the country.
The Tamale Government Hospital, in the Northern region and Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, St. Patrick Catholic Hospital, and Aninwah Medical Centre, all in Ashanti Region were presented with the supplies which included ventilators, infant kits, and infusion sets. Other items, like respiratory therapy textbooks were presented in the package.
The donation also included educational materials valued at 20,000 dollars, which were given to the New Life Academy, an orphanage, based at James Town in Accra.
Ms. Vickie Bright, of the Office of the President who led a delegation from the University to present the equipment said she personally made the appeal through one Dr Emmanuel Tuffuor, based in the USA who in turn contacted an official at the University to help mobilize the items.
Ms. Bright said she decided to solicit for the equipment "particularly because I was moved by a recent incident in which a boy who got burnt in a fire outbreak was rushed to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital died because there was no ventilator for him to be put on". She expressed happiness about the prompt response from the University who did not only give to the Hospital, but to other regional hospitals as well as the orphanage.
She urged all citizens to take the initiative to do the little that they could to help such institutions to relieve the government from its huge burdens.
Dr. Tuffuor said the official whom he contacted at the Weber State University also mobilized her students and other individuals and churches at the States, who readily gave out freely, any equipment they could afford "which resulted in us having such supplies for the hospitals".
Professor Lisa Trujillo, a lecturer of the University thanked the Government for assisting them to bring the supplies in the country free of charge to help care for the needs of recipient hospitals and Ghanaians in general.
Dr. William Appeadu-Measah of the Korle-Bu Peadiatric Unit on behalf of the Hospital thanked the University for coming in time to assist them, saying the Hospital has only a few ventilators at present while other departments have none at all.