Medical equipment donated by Pope Francis reaches destination

By Vatican News

In a statement released on Saturday, it was annouced that Don Orione Hospital in Araguanína, Tocantins, in the northern part of Brazil, has received a portion of the medical equipment donated by Pope Francis.

There are eight hospitals in Brazil who are the beneficiaries of the medical equipment mentioned in that statement: eight Draeger intensive care ventilators and 6 portable Fuji ultrasound scanners. One of those hospitals is Don Orione Hospital.

A representative of Hope Association, a charitable agency based in Italy, arrived on Sunday 23 August. Dr. Paolo Taccone, arriving from Milan, delivered three ventilators and one of the portable ultrasound machines to the Don Orione Hospital.

The donation was mediated by the diocese of Tocantinópolis, in dialogue with the Apostolic Nuncio Giovanni D'Aniello and Bishop Giovane Pereira de Melo, the local Ordinary.

"It is a great honor for us to receive the donation sent by Pope Francis," said the Hospital's director, Father Jarbas Assunção Serpa.

Don Orione Hospital is one of the main centers for Covid-19 treatment in Tocantins. It contains clinical and intensive unit beds that also serve the Unified Health System (SUS).

"This equipment will make a very significant contribution to assisting patients, especially the more severe ones," concluded the director.