The Rotary Club of Tortola (the “Club”) is delighted to announce that as of last week, with funds raised from the community via its Grand Raffle which concluded in September and the support of generous donors, we have met the goal of $45,000.00 USD needed for the purchase of equipment for an expansion of Blood Bank Laboratory Services (the “Laboratory”) at BVI Health Services Authority (BVIHSA).
In the spring of 2022, Dr. Kedrick Pickering was the guest speaker at the Club’s weekly luncheon meeting where he spoke on maternal health and issues surrounding birth as an expert in the field, having the record for most deliveries in the Territory. An issue he said the hospital is facing is the availability of blood and blood products such as plasma in a quick time. He challenged the Club to make an impact where this is concerned and do something to help the blood bank at BVIHSA.
Never one to back away from a challenge, the Club went to work in partnership with BVIHSA and the BVI Red Cross and determined what would be the necessary equipment and training needed for an expansion of the Laboratory at BVIHSA. The Laboratory is also in the process of moving into an expanded space in the hospital. Dr June Samuel, current Ag CEO of the BVIHSA explained that the additional equipment to be purchased with the funding from the Club will increase the ability for the Laboratory to have units of blood in its inventory immediately available, and will also allow forcomponents of blood, such as plasma (which has a longer shelf life) and platelets, to be extracted locally and so there is less chance of wastage of blood units. “This expansion comes as an opportune time as the Laboratory is actively working on achieving certification early in the New Year” noted Dr Samuel. She concluded, “The BVIHSA is focused on expanding and improving its services, and partners such as the Rotary Club of Tortola will help us to meet these goals.”
The Club held the Grand Raffle specifically to raise funds for the Blood Bank project. The local community through the purchase of raffle tickets hugely supported the Grand Raffle. The Club netted approximately $25,000 after payment of prizes to the lucky winners. This outcome shows that Rotarians are people of action who work in partnership with other stakeholders to address real needs of the community”, said Mrs. Valerie Georges Thomas, President of the Rotary Club of Tortola. She added “this project will have tremendous impact on the community as it will enable the hospital Laboratory to better serve its patients with new capacity to test blood locally before use in patients and expanded capacity to store blood so that there is a greater supply to more readily meet patient needs. We are grateful to the general public whose support of our Grand Raffle enabled us to raise a good portion of the funding needed to achieve our objectives and to our very generous donors and we are exceedingly happy to be in the position to help the community through this impactful project. We are ready to proceed to the stage of ordering the equipment and getting it shipped on island.”
On Friday November 4th 2022, with the District Governor for District 7020 Deborah Howell visiting the BVI Rotary Family for the past week, the Club used the opportunity to give DG Deborah a tour of the new space the Laboratory will occupy and to meet Laboratory Manager Devye Nicholson and other key lab personnel. DG Deborah expressed satisfaction with the progress made to date with the project and of the importance of the project for the BVI community and is looking forward to the improvements that will be made to the patient experience at the Hospital once the project is completed.