Vein viewers, K.H.M.H. gets top notch equipment

Public healthcare has often trailed behind the advances that private healthcare facilities have obtained. But that’s beginning to change. Belize’s primary health care provider, the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, happens to be the first medical facility in the country to acquire the latest technology in vascular imaging. It’s called the VeinViewer and it is manufactured by Christie Medical Incorporated. How advanced and new is it? It was featured on the popular medical television show Doctor Oz.  The hospital was given five VeinViewers and they were donated by Hope Presbyterian Church of Memphis, Tennessee. Hope Church’s Global Outreach Director, Doctor Johnny Long says that his group has been coming to Belize for ten years during which they were making their presence felt in the villages.

Johnny Long, Global Outreach Director, Hope Church

“When I got back to Memphis, I started making contacts amongst our team and our group of community members and one of our committee members actually works for Christie Medical who has facilitated the donation.”

Jose Sanchez

Johnny Long

“And the equipment itself; what’s the actual monetary value of it and how far does it go in helping the doctors here at the K.H.M.H. get their work done?”

Johnny Long

“Well the value; it is about a hundred and twenty-five thousand U.S.—that’s the value that was donated. Apparently what it is going to do with the doctors. They are not going to have to keep sticking a child to find out where the veins are. This is excellent technology for dark-skinned and for infants so that they can find the veins without being too invasive.”

Adrian Coye

Dr. Adrian Coye, Director of Medical Services, K.H.M.H.

“It is a common problem, difficulty finding veins; especially in patients who have been in hospital a long time. So this is a need that has always existed, but this technology is a recent technology as Doctor Long was saying—recently featured on Doctor Oz. But it is a new technology with lots of good papers behind it—being used all over the world—and it basically assures almost a hundred percent success rate in searching IV. Also in our population where we have various degrees of pigmentation it would help to show the map of the veins and takes away the guessing that does happen. Well it affects all patients.”

Jose Sanchez

“How does the machine actually works; can you show us?”

Dr. Adrian Coye

“Well I have never put it on as yet, but I can show you in principle what it does is it is going to shine an infrared light and it is almost like a rectangle in the area that you are interested to put this drip in. it can be used in all the limps and even the scalp for babies. In showing that roadmap, then you can choose the biggest vein, the one that is the straightest—these are technical things but to assure the success.”

Jose Sanchez

“How soon do you start to use it?”

Dr. Adrian Coye

“Well we do have to do about two and a half hours of training online. We are arranging that as we speak so I cannot say, but hopefully by next week.”

Johnny Long

“This was our first meeting. When I came down yesterday, I had the complete tour with Doctor Coye and Doctor Longsworth. We see so many different opportunities for us to work together with volunteers, financially, more equipment brought down from the states. So we are just looking at all those options at this point right now, but yes, it will be a long-term relationship.”

Dr. Long said that during a flight out of Belize he met Derek Aikman who initiated a conversation that lead to today’s donation of five VeinViewers at the K.H.M.H.