if any one would go back to my original into????????????????
i have this boat and do take tons of medical suppys and equip to cuba
and so very neive me go to this cigar site and maybe?????????
it was like david going into the lions den only worse.............
they kill you, bring you back to life and then kill you agan......
a lot of fun, and this message is very long and most will not read it but its what i am about so............
if you can help please contact me
as for as funds are concerned it is an application that i samitted to thr gates foundation
i wonder if bill gates smokes cigars??? maybe moki could be so kind to send him a couple sticks?????????????
AIDS in Cuba
AIDS is a relatively small problem compared to other countries in the world. About 5000 people are HIV positive in an island nation of 11,000,ooo. Initially, AIDS came to Cuba from soldiers serving in the African nation of Angola. The government’s initial reaction was to isolate the victims from society in military barracks. This outraged many people in world. After a study by medical experts, Cuban’s developed one of the best AIDS prevention programs in the world. Today if any person Cuba is diagnosed with HIV are required to go to a treatment center which are located all over the country.
Here they have a complete medical evaluation. Physiological, psychological counseling and most important education about there disease to prevent its spread is taught. They spend time at the treatment centers until the staff is satisfied that they will not be a threat to society, and then they are released back into the community. They are required to return periodically for follow up exams and are given what few drugs are available for them.
When their disease advances to illnesses that require hospitalization they are sent to Pedro Kouri de Medicina Tropical, a hospital on the western edge of Havana. It has controlled access, fenced with electric gates and guards. It is a rather large building where they have set up a 200 bed facility. All of the doctors that we met are volunteers. The director is Professor Jorge Perez and is an acknowledged expert on AIDS. He has been able to get some help from the United Nations. This facility is on the lowest rung of the Cuban medical ladder. He showed us a room full of monitoring equipment sent from the UN and it was totally useless because there were no hook ups or even power cords supplied.
A majority of Cuban doctors will not treat an AIDS patient because they are fearful of the disease.
This is where we come in.
The hospital has absolutely no operating room. However,
They have remodeled an area with a tile floor, solid walls, and ceiling. Currently all of the equipment that they have is some 1960’s surgical lights.
It takes 5-6 months for them to schedule surgery in only one operating room in Havana that will allow AIDS patients to use. Needless to say most die of simple operative procedures that could have prevented their early death. Our friend Dr Gilberto Fleites estimates that 10 people die each month. We have committed to the hospital that we would return this fall with enough equipment to establish a complete operating room.
We have a 53 foot sailboat and have been delivering small medical equipment and drugs for several years to Dr Gilberto.
When we returned to Omaha in June 2005 we began to solicit friends and doctors. Senator Mick Mines of Nebraska sent a letter to every hospital and medical facility in the state of Nebraska. The response has been overwhelming. Almost everything on the hospital’s wish list (which I have included) is available free of charge; to a point. Much to my dismay most of this equipment is massive and very heavy. We have quickly seen that we need help to complete this project. The equipment needs to be serviced and repaired. Most have battery back ups to replace. Electronics need to be tested and tuned, and many have disposable wands and devises that will have to be purchased new. We have to transport everything to Florida in a container and then load it on our and friends larger boats who have volunteered there services. We may have to ship a container to Havana.
We do not plan to stop with the wish list but will accept any hospital related materials. A hospital in Auburn, Nebraska donated 100’s of hospital linens and gowns which we readily accepted. The needs are so great. We saw a two station dialysis room where the patients had nothing more to lay on than a steel table with a thin mat; a process that can take hours.
For the past couple of years we have been licensed to travel to Cuba through Caribbean Medical Transport, a 503c1 organization. I have recently been added to the board. We have personally traveled to Cuba 8 times with our boat and have taken tons of badly need medical supplies and equipment to specific doctors and hospitals through doctor Gilberto. This is important because if this is not done through a sponsor the medical supplies will end up in a government store and be sold to the people, not donated as we intend to do.
I am making this request for funds that will be used directly for the acquisition of equipment, transportation expenses, repair, testing and what new devises need to be purchased. Their will be no funds allocated for any salaries or general expenses for Caribbean Medical Transport. In fact, if there is any money left I would like to deposit it into an account for Dr Gilberto to administer for the benefit of the hospital.
This is an extremely important mission and it will save and extend many individuals lives who are victims of AIDS, maybe even long enough for a cure to be found for this dreaded disease. I would estimate in the first year of operation we would save 100 lives, with an investment of $250.00 per person. I will continue to monitor and support with additional donations in the years ahead and we could save thousands of lives.
We will be traveling with a professional photographer who plans to do a documentary from beginning to end. (It would be great to do film). Of course the Gates Foundation would be given complete credit for having made this possible.
July,
Joe Doe
Administrator
ABC Hospital
111 Hillcrest
Blair, NE 68008
Dear Mr. Doe:
Subject: Operating Room Equipment for Cuba
Several times each year, Doug Hiner, on his own time and using his own boat, delivers medical supplies and equipment to doctors in Havana, Cuba under the license of not-for-profit, Caribbean Medial Transport.
On his most recent trip, Doug toured the Instituto Pedro Kouri De Medicina Tropical, a 200 room hospital in Havana where his friend Dr. Gilberto volunteers his time. According to Doug, this is the only hospital in Cuba that accepts the approximately 5,000 Cubans who are HIV positive.
Doug found that the hospital renovated a room for surgery, but they have no surgical equipment. Absolutely none. Patients who require surgery are scheduled at only one other hospital, but there is a five to six month waiting period. Many people die needlessly of minor problems that could be prevented.
Doug will return to Cuba in October 2005 and he hopes to deliver the equipment listed on the attached page. If you have new or used equipment that you can
donate to this most worthy effort, please contact Doug at (402) 658-8911, dhiner_2000@yahoo.com, 1424 South 13th St., Omaha, NE 68108. Thank you.
Yours very truly,
Mick Mines
State Senator - District 18
Attachment
Equipment Wish List
for
Pedro Kouri De Medicina Tropical
• Mechanical Operating Table
(no sophisticated electronic or pneumatic mechanisms)
• Surgical Lamp and spare light bulbs
• Abdominal Surgery Instruments – basic
• Coagulating Devices – hook, round, etc.
• Homeostatic Forceps
• Needle-Holding Forceps,
• Dissecting Forceps
• Grasping Forceps
• Babcock Forceps
• Needle-holders
• Scissors
• Metzenbaum Scissors
• Farabeuf Retractors
• Allys Forceps
• Abdominal Retractors - medium and large X 2
• Anesthesia Machine
(permitting thoracic and abdominal surgery)
• Monitor – basic
(EKG, heart rate, NIBP, pulse-oxymetery, etc.)
• Endoscopic Surgery Instruments – they have the tower
• 5 / 10 / 12 Metal Ports – for re-sterilization
• Endoscopic Surgery Telescope
(Karl Storz and Olympus compatible, one 0-degrees, one 30-degrees)
• Electrosurgical Unit – for cutting and coagulation - general surgery (Bovie)
