Pediatric vacuum cleaners donated by Japan to help Cuban patients

 MATANZAS, Cuba, Apr 8 (ACN) A dozen airway aspirators for pediatric patients, recently donated by the government of Japan, will help improve the quality of life of patients with chronic diseases in the province of Matanzas(western region), public health authorities reported.

Julio Hernandez Sanchez, a specialist of the Maternal and Child Care Program (PAMI by its Spanish acronym), told the Cuban News Agency that the portable equipment, already in the territory, will be delivered to relatives of infants with tracheotomy or home ventilation.

These devices are used to aspirate secretions and improve respiratory dynamics; many of these patients already had a vacuum cleaner at home, while electromedicine personnel will visit them to make the change and instruct the relatives in its use, he commented.

Armando Arechavaleta Ugarte, head of PAMI in Matanzas, recalled that state-of-the-art ultrasound equipment, also donated by the Japanese government, is already in operation, one at the provincial center of Medical Genetics and the other at the gynecobstetric hospital Jose Ramon Lopez Tabrane, both located in this city.

The specialist emphasized that the province maintains at zero the infant and maternal mortality, a flattering result considering the 1,373 births registered, 50 more than at the same stage of the previous year.

Arechavaleta Ugarte highlighted that efforts are being redoubled in order to enforce the care protocols established to offer quality medical care, and mentioned the socialization in all the municipalities of methodologies aimed at optimizing processes such as the follow-up of pregnant women.