P.G.I.A. employee steals Rotary heart machines
For more than three decades, the Gift of Life programme of the Rotary Club has been helping children with heart problems get much needed medical treatment abroad. But due to the actions of a heartless thief this week, that project was put in jeopardy when a very expensive piece of equipment went missing. The drama unfolded on Wednesday, when neonatal cardiologist Dr. James Huhta left the country with all his evaluation equipment. When the doctor arrived in Atlanta and picked up his checked luggage, he found that the bag was noticeably lighter. When he looked inside he was shocked to discover that the G.E. cardiovascular ultrasound machine, worth a whopping fifty thousand U.S. dollars was missing. The matter was immediately reported to police but that was little comfort to Rotarian Yvette Burks, who quickly realized that the very lives of sick patients laid in the hands of the perpetrator. Burks took to the airwaves and begged the thief or thieves to return the machine, no questions asked. It turns out the culprit had a heart as someone showed up late this afternoon claiming to have found the stolen computer in a yard on Vernon Street. That story might be shaky at best but the Rotary Club is simply grateful to have a happy ending.
Yvette Burks, Coor., Gift of Life
?The equipment contains the medical records for dozens of Belizean patients, and for that reason it is priceless. All the patients from this entire country, who travel to the clinic?and we worked very hard this week. In fact on Tuesday we were at the hospital from eight in the morning until almost eight o?clock at night. There were sixty-four patients that passed through. They travelled from Big Creek, from P.G., from Corozal, from all the little remote villages. We have identified a number of them requiring open heart surgeries and we cannot acquire this service for these patients unless the doctor has access to the examinations, which he has stored in this equipment.?
?I believe that they took it thinking it was a laptop. But it is of no commercial value to them now that they realise that it is an E.K.G .machine, because?actually it?s an echo machine, I need to correct that. Now that they realise it?s an echo machine, it?s of no commercial value to them, only a cardiologist can use it or make any sense of anything that is contained in that equipment.?
This incident has highlighted however, that with new restrictions forcing passengers to check all electronic equipment, the airport authority will need to ensure that its employees don’t have sticky fingers.
