AMREF Flying Doctors Acquires Portable Isolation Chambers for COVID-19 Cases

• All AMREF Flying Doctors clients, including those covered under our contract with National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) to access the new equipment.
• AMREF Flying Doctors to continue supporting Government of Kenya response to COVID-19 outbreak in Kenya

NAIROBI, KENYA – May 13, 2020 – AMREF Flying Doctors, the leading Air Ambulance service provider in Africa, has today announced the acquisition of two Portable Isolation Chambers.

This acquisition is a direct response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, driven by the increasing possibility of the need to transfer positive patients by air ambulance between medical facilities in the region and beyond.

“Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the region we have received numerous requests to transport infected patients within Kenya and in the region”, said Stephen Gitau, Chief Executive Officer at AMREF Flying Doctors, “To ensure that we do this safely and with minimal exposure to our medical and air crew as well members of the public, we decided to invest in the two Portable Isolation Chambers”

Effective immediately, all AMREF Flying Doctors clients – including the Disciplined forces, Civil Servants and Public Secondary School students (registered under National Education Information System) covered under the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) contract for Emergency Air Evacuation Services – will start enjoying access to the patient transport isolation units in the event of a medical evacuation.

“The introduction of Portable Isolation Chambers will enable AMREF Flying Doctors to increase the medical evacuation capacity, by being able to transport COVID-19 positive patients on board our aircraft, in the best interest of the patient and our hard working staff”, adds Stephen Gitau.

Since the outbreak of the novel corona virus in Kenya, AMREF Flying Doctors has supported the Government of Kenya through the Ministry of Health and has rendered logistical and professional support whenever called upon to do so. This has recently included movement of critical medical

supplies and personnel to far-flung spots throughout the country, in response to new threats. The purchase of these units will further increase the options available to AMREF Flying Doctors in supporting government efforts against the spread of COVID-19.

All AMREF Flying Doctors air, medical and ground personnel have already undergone thorough training on the application of the newly acquired Portable Isolation Chambers, so they can be immediately deployed.

About the Portable Isolation Chamber

The portable isolation chamber is an innovative medical isolation and transportation system designed for optimal safety during patient loading and transport. The unit is a single patient isolator made of cleanable materials. It is easily assembled for use, fully transportable and is compatible with leading ambulance-stretcher systems. It is compatible with most mechanical ventilator circuits. The equipment meets all requirements for full environmental protection from cross-contamination.

Easy access to the patient enables advanced care and treatment. The design allows the provision of most intensive care treatments and emergency procedures. The unit is reusable with compact storage when not in use.

Only 30 minutes are needed to prepare and load the patient into the Portable Isolation Chamber. The patient can stay inside as long as necessary as the air is circulated through special filters – meaning that both short and long-distance transfers are possible.

About AMREF Flying Doctors

AMREF Flying Doctors is part of Amref Health Africa, the largest Africa based International Non-Governmental Organisation (INGO), established in Kenya in 1957. Since then, AMREF Flying Doctors have been involved in health care projects across East Africa, one of them being their Air Ambulance Service. AMREF Flying Doctors is accredited by the European Aeromedical Institute (EURAMI) and has twice been honoured with the International Air Ambulance provider of the Year Award (2011, 2014)

AMREF Flying Doctors provides air evacuation services in medical emergencies as well as air ambulance transfers between medical facilities. Patients can also be repatriated to Europe, Asia and North America by Air Ambulance jet or a medical escort provided on commercial carriers. With a fleet of 5 fully owned aircraft, patients can be evacuated from anywhere on the African continent to anywhere in the world.

More information about AMREF Flying Doctors is available at www.flydoc.org

Visit the Amref COVID-19 Africa Information Centre @ https://amref.org/coronavirus/

For more information, please contact:
Catherine Ochola
Marketing Manager
Telephone: +254 (0) 706 751 766
Email: Catherine@flydoc.org