Padua, Verona, and Treviso: The medical isolation tents donated by Doctors with Africa CUAMM to the Veneto Region have just arrived to be used to isolate positive Covid-19 patients in the hospital wards. Purchased as part of the “Italian Response to Covid-19” project that Doctors with Africa CUAMM is implementing throughout Italy, with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the tents are an additional tool for containing the virus in hospital settings.
On the suggestion of Azienda Zero, which is managing the pandemic response in the Veneto Region, two tents were sent to the Padua Hospital, one to the Integrated University Hospital of Verona and two others to the ULSS 2 “Marca Trevigiana” Hospital.
When the tents are returned from the wards to their previous uses, they may also help isolate individual patients in non-Covid wards to ensure that they are cared for by specialized personnel, with all those who will need their treatment in total safety for the health workers and other patients. Every tent provides isolation from the surrounding environment and complete air exchange, which prevents the virus from spreading through the rest of the facility.
Arianna Bortolani, a CUAMM doctor with extensive experience in Africa, also works at the Borgo Trento Geriatric Hospital in Verona, where one of the tents has been assembled. Dr. Bortolani had recently given her service in Wolisso, Ethiopia and has now returned to Italy.
She tells us, “We are completing training the staff who could manage the patients treated in the tents, and we are relying on this new tool to help us manage and, most importantly, protect our patients who are fragile as are most of our elderly patients.”
The IRC-19 project was implemented by Doctors with Africa CUAMM, made possible by the American government through USAID, which is supporting a number of projects in Italy, aiming at reducing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The project draws on a network of volunteers, professionals, and health trainers associated with Doctors with Africa CUAMM to respond to Covid-19 with a preventive approach with special focus on fragile and marginalized communities. USAID is the U.S. government’s leading development organization, active in more than 100 countries.
This story is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of Doctors with Africa CUAMM, recipient of the Fixed Amount Award (FAA) No. 7200AA20FA00013 and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
