From left, Dr. Steven Pulitzer, M.D., Chief Medical Offi cer, NYC Health Hospitals/
Kings County; Former CEO Ernest J. Baptiste; Council Member Dr.
Mathieu Eugene; and Respiratory Care Services and staff with a new Maquet
Servo neonatal ventilator. Offi ce of Council Member Mathieu Eugene
Caribbean Life, April 3-9, 2020 21
By George Alleyne
As she globetrots dispensing
charitable donations to various
causes superstar Rihanna is showing
a continued awareness that
charity begins at home and has
put money into helping the Barbados
government obtain ventilators
for Novel Coronavirus, COVID-19,
infected persons.
While she has donated to organisations
worldwide in the struggle
to contain COVID-19 through the
Clara Lionel Foundation, Rihanna
has dropped off $700,000 to assist
the Barbados government obtain
ventilators.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley
made this announcement recently
while outlining a number of measures
aimed at fighting spread of
the virus on the island.
Ventilators are a pivotal item
in the treatment of infected persons
and could mean the difference
between life and death as
COVID-19 is a mainly respiratory
disease that blocks the air passage
of many victims.
These complex machines essentially
take over breathing functions
of an infected person’s lungs
by pumping oxygen into that organ
and extracting carbon dioxide.
This essential function keeps the
patient alive to fight off the infection.
The Clara Lionel Foundation is
named after Rihanna’s grandparents,
Clara and Lionel Brathwaite.
By Caribbean Life
As the coronavirus epidemic rages on
across New York City, we want to hear
from the health care workers on the front
lines battling to save lives.
Our reporters want to speak about what
they’ve witnessed in emergency rooms,
medical centers, nursing homes and other
facilities where lives hang in the balance
every day. We want to tell their stories to
show New York City their courage but also
the severity of the conditions they work in
— and the situation they face.
We welcome submissions at any time
from active New York City physicians,
nurses, lab technicians and other health
care workers who are helping to treat
patients.
Ssubmit your information to us at
caribbeanlife@schnepsmedia.com, and
a reporter may contact you soon. Your
information will be held confidentially;
your name will be used only with your
express permission, or withheld upon
request.
By submitting, you understand that
the content must not be false, defamatory,
misleading or hateful, or infringe any
copyright or any other third party rights
or otherwise be unlawful.
We will use the contact details that
you provide to verify your identity and
answers to the questionnaire, as well as
to contact you for further information on
this story. If we publish your content, we
may include your name and location.
By Nelson A. King
Long before the phrases “social distancing”
and “flatten the curve” entered
into what is fast becoming the everyday
lexicon of New Yorkers, Brooklyn Council
Member Dr. Mathieu Eugene’ says
his advocacy for improved healthcare
resources focused on preparing the city
for emergency crises similar to the current
novel coronavirus outbreak.
In April 2017, the Haitian-born legislator,
who represents the 40th Council
District in Brooklyn, said he allocated
funding to NYC Health + Hospitals
Kings County for the acquisition of the
largest fleet of state-of-the-art respiratory
equipment in New York City.
Eugene, a physician by training, said
the hospital was able to acquire 15 adult
ventilators and five neo-natal ventilators,
“which greatly increased the hospital’s
ability to provide urgent medical
care.”
At the time, he said no other hospital
in Brooklyn had that type of neonatal
ventilator.
“The acquisition put Kings County
Hospital at the forefront of life-saving
medical technology, an advantage that
will be needed to address the current
influx of respiratory illness caused by
the novel coronavirus,” Eugene said.
“Our medical facilities need the most
advanced life-saving medical equipment
to properly address the health
issues of the community,” he added.
“This is critically important when the
community faces a healthcare crisis
like the novel coronavirus, when equipment
such as ventilators will be in high
demand across the city.”
Eugene, the first Haitian to hold
elective office in New York City, said he
continued his advocacy to create a “concrete
approach” to address public health
emergencies with Resolutions 637 and
638, introduced in November 2018.
Resolution 637 called on the United
States Department of Health and
Human Services and the New York
State Department of Health to create
a special commission to address health
emergencies and infectious diseases.
Resolution 638 called on the Department
of Health to create stand-alone,
self-contained isolation centers or units
for the treatment of patients with infectious
disease due to epidemic, including
highly contagious and airborne
diseases.
Eugene said both resolutions are
aimed at alleviating the burden that
officials at the city, state and federal
levels are facing, as they work to provide
beds and emergency care for coronavirus
patients, which something “should
have been put into place long ago.”
“The health and well being of the
community have always been my top
priority as an elected official,” the council
member. “I have had the opportunity
to work with so many healthcare
officials in New York City, and I am
extremely grateful for their compassion
and dedication to caring for New
Yorkers.
“I also want to thank officials in
the city, state and federal government,
who have been steadfast in their efforts
to create and maintain an infrastructure
that provides critical healthcare
resources to those who need them,” he
added. “This is a monumental undertaking,
and it is up to each of us to do
our part in supporting their work.
“In this time of crisis, we have doctors,
nurses and medical professionals
who are literally putting their health
at risk to save people from this deadly
virus,” Eugene continued. “They are
heroes, and that is why it is so important
to provide them with the resources
they need to perform emergency medical
care.
“But we must also be forward thinking
and more prepared for scenarios
where a city will face an infectious disease
outbreak, epidemic or pandemic,”
he said. “his is when our medical facilities
will be put to the test in order to
save lives, and it is important that we
have the resources in place to protect
our residents.”
Rihanna gives help to Barbados.
Eugene: History of healthcare advocacy
aimed to prepare NYC for current pandemic
Attention health care professionals in NY
City: Tell us your coronavirus stories
Rihanna
helps
Barbados
fight
COVID-19
link
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