Waterbury Hospital Donates Ultrasound Machines and Other Medical Equipment to Help Third World Hospitals

WATERBURY – Waterbury Hospital has donated two ultrasound machines and other hospital equipment valued at more than $200,000 to help bring medical relief to overburdened hospitals in developing countries such as Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and earthquake-ravaged Haiti. 

The equipment, some of which is more than 20 years old and has been replaced at Waterbury Hospital with more modern technology, will prove to be highly useful and beneficial to the hospitals which will be receiving it, said Jean Assobmo, a biomedical engineer for the American Medical Resources Foundation, the Massachusetts-based organization which accepted the donated equipment from Waterbury Hospital this week. 

“We are very grateful to Waterbury Hospital for making this donation possible,” he said. 

Assobmo said the equipment will be part of a shipment being sent to hospitals in the Dominican Republic and Guatemala next week. It’s also possible the equipment could be sent to Haiti, which is recovering from a devastating earthquake that has led to an intense demand for medical relief. 

Frank Vensel, the Director of Clinical Engineering for Waterbury Hospital, said the two donated ultrasound machines are highly functional and efficient in treating a wide variety of health issues, including heart problems and troubled pregnancies. 

“We could not be more pleased that these pieces of equipment will continue to be put to good use,” Vensel said.  

Mary Prybylo, RN, the Chief Operating Officer at Waterbury Hospital, said the donations reflect the hospital’s mission to serve and treat people in medical distress, no matter where they are. 

“This is a wonderful way to make a difference in people’s lives,” she said.    
 

Waterbury Hospital is the largest private employer in the Greater Waterbury region, and serves a vital role in the economic vitality of Western Connecticut. It is a private, non-profit acute care teaching hospital licensed for 367 beds and affiliated with the Yale School of Medicine, the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. Founded in 1890 as Waterbury’s first and Connecticut’s fourth hospital, Waterbury Hospital is a full-service community health-care institution with centers of excellence in primary care, cardiac services, behavioral health and orthopaedics.