U.S. Embassy Donates Equipment to Arco Iris Hospital Neonatal Unit

Dr. Bedregal and U.S. Embassy Health Practitioner Patricia Baxer look at one of the premature babies who will benefit from the infusion pump donated by the Kirby Foundation through the Embassy. (State Department)

U.S. Embassy Health Unit officers delivered a donation consisting of an infusion pump for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of Arco Iris Hospital, in La Paz, on June 24. This pump is a tool that provides precise doses of medication to premature babies whose weight starts at only 700 grams. Without these special pumps, babies are at risk of being critically overmedicated with fluids and medicines.

The donation, estimated at $2,000, was made possible by U.S. Embassy health practitioner Patricia Baxer and was provided by the Kirby Foundation, a private institution created in memory of a U.S. Foreign Service member by his family. This foundation provides small but significant grants to humanitarian relief projects. "I am proud to be able to help Arco Iris Hospital with this equipment, a vital tool for the neonatal unit," said Baxer at the delivery ceremony. "The lives of many premature babies will improve thanks to the pump and oxygen hoods for babies."

While expressing gratitude for the donation, Neonatal Unit director Dr. Luis Bedregal said the Hospital staff was very happy to have an additional pump, since the institution currently has only five pumps to provide attention to 15 premature babies. "Actually, what would be best is if each patient had his own pump to measure the flow of medication administered, as this is vital for babies who are so fragile and weak. In other parts of the world there are two and up to six infusion pumps for each patient to best monitor the medication. Here, we have to substitute the equipment with more personnel and additional permanent monitoring that controls the medication flow drop by drop."

Arco Iris Hospital is a nonprofit foundation that opened in 2001 with the purpose of offering free attention to children and adolescents who live or work in the streets of the city of La Paz and surrounding areas. The Hospital provides healthcare services to patients from all backgrounds and relies heavily on donations.