A new service to support pregnant women who tested positive to Covid was activated in April and officially launched today in Milan. It is a remote monitoring service to provide maternal and newborn care during the pandemic while reducing the risks for healthcare providers. The service, included in the “Italian Response to Covid19: Improving governance and community preparedness for a resilient society (IRC19)” project, implemented by Doctors with Africa CUAMM and supported by USAID, was offered to the patients of Mangiagalli Clinics at the Policlinico of Milan who could benefit from those cutting-edge instrumentations.
When the pandemic peaked in March 2020, Mangiagalli Clinic was identified by Regione Lombardia as Hub Center for Covid-19 among all the regional maternity hospitals. A new area was set at Mangiagalli Clinic to offer healthcare to pregnant women positive to Covid-19: it was provided with 18 beds, eventually expandable to 32, of which 12 set for the subintensive care unit.Smart cameras with face tracking to be activated by vocal command were installed in those 6 rooms of subintensive care with 2 beds each. In addition, directional microphone were also installed to guarantee, through a Wi-Fi connection, a 24/7 video monitoring service and the possibility to listen to and speak to midwives and doctors reducing the necessity to enter the red zone.The cameras installed are also useful to monitor women in the breastfeeding stage. When in their room, patients can connect to the rooming-in and to the intensive care with tablet and smartphone provided to monitor their babies affected by neonatal pathology or born premature.
Dr. Ezio Belleri, General Director at Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico di Milano, said: «This hospital was at the forfront in providing healtcare during the Covid-19 pandemic and we chose to dedicate particular attention to maternal care. The support received during the pandemic by national, international as well as city insitutions and organizations from the third sector was paramount. Hence, the contribution offered to the hospital by Doctors with Africa CUAMM and by the American government».
Robert Needham, American Consul, US Consulate General Milan, pointed out: «Today I am pleased of having joined the Mangiagalli and Policlinico Hospital teams and Doctors with Africa CUAMM in the presentation of a system to provide remote assistant to pregnant women with Covid-19. The system was made possible through the U.S. Government/USAID donation to Doctors with Africa CUAMM of 30,000 euro. This donation is part of the Italian Response to COVID-19 (IRC19) launched by CUAMM in June 2021 and funded through USAID’s $50 million commitment to Italy, pledged in Spring 2020, during the height of Italy’s first wave. USAID’s partnership with Italy saved lives while building Italy’s resilience and capacity to respond to future public health emergencies. Many of these efforts are still on-going. To date USAID has provided more than $9 billion to intensify the fight against COVID-19 around the globe, supporting more than 120 countries. We believe in this global fight, nobody is safe until everyone is safe».
A very important moment for Doctors with Africa Cuamm as well, as pointed out by Andrea Atzori, Chief of IRC19 project and Head of International Relations at Doctors with Africa CUAMM stated: «We are launching today at Mangiagalli Clinic at Policlinico of Milan the remote monitoring system for maternity care. It is a remarkable service that helps us guarantee protection to health workers and patients in a time of common concerns due to Covid-19 pandemic. This is a very important achievement for Doctors with Africa CUAMM. Since the beginning of this pandemic, it was our intention to effectively support the local community renovating in Italy the commitment that has been leading our work in Africa for over 70 years: to provide maternal and newborn care and to ensure safe matherhood up to the last mile».
Prof Enrico Ferrazzi, Doctor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at IRCCS Foundation Ca’ Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Milano added: «I thank CUAMM and USAID for choosing Mangiagalli Clinic as Italian center of excellence in obstetrics and gynecology and as regional Hub Center for Covid-19. The remote monitoring service activated has helped us provide 400 patients tested positive to Covid-19 with a better and more secure healthcare service. Such system is not only useful during the pandemic but also in the future, to support mothers and children with medical complexity».
USAID (United States Agency for International Development), financing IRC19, is the main development agency of the American government and it works in more than one hundred countries
This press released was written with the precious contribution of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in behalf of the American citizens. Doctors with Africa CUAMM, awarded with the Fixed Amount Award (FAA) No. 7200AA20FA00013 is responsible for the opinions expressed in this press released. Neither USAID nor the American government can be held responsible for what herein stated.
