Hi everyone! I am Noorin Darvesh and I am contributing to Onyx+Ivy's blog today in hopes to share some information about the current crisis in India. They need our help, and I would love for you to read about the organization I am volunteering with below.
About this Giving Opportunity
India is seeing hundreds of thousands of new COVID-19 cases daily and their healthcare system has collapsed. Lower and middle income people are unable to access consultations with physicians, medical care and hospital beds when they become seriously ill. Medications are becoming more expensive and difficult to get.
This has led to panic, so people are rushing to hospital earlier than necessary, worrying that they will not be able to find a bed when they become unwell. Instead of resting and conserving their energy, they are spending hours to days searching for a bed. The Child Foundation and a growing group of Canadian doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other skilled contributors are collaborating to rapidly deploy aid and support to people with COVID-19 in India before they need to go to hospital
A network of nurses in India will be supported by volunteer virtual physicians in India and Canada. We are also aiming to outfit a rural hospital with temporary respirators, oxygen supplies to enable access to critical care that would otherwise be entirely unavailable.
What we urgently need:
1) Vital signs monitors (oximeters, blood pressure cuffs, thermometers)
2) Medications
3) IV supplies / equipment
4) Stethoscopes
5) COVID-19 Testing kits
6) Diagnostic equipment (lab and ECG)
7) Donations to hire nurses on the ground
The Child Foundation is a CRA-registered charity that aims to reduce mortality of underprivileged women and children in rural India by providing basic health care, health education and awareness in a culturally-sensitive environment.
India is in crisis and we need your help!
How to donate: http://www.childfoundation.ca/
View our interview with CBC here: Calgary doctors using social media apps and fundraising to help India in battle against COVID | CBC News
A little about me
I am a Clinical Nurse Educator working on a designated inpatient COVID unit in Calgary. One of the physicians I work with, Dr. Gohel, who is Chair of the Medical Advisory board for the Child Foundation charity in Calgary, asked me to join this group of volunteers to help:
· Provide education to patients on how to manage their symptoms at home and when to go to hospital
· Provide education to nurses on how to manage patients in hospital
· Procurement of supplies
· Fundraising efforts
Thank you for taking the time to read today's blog!
Noreen Darvesh