Help the AGGMC Buy a New Ultrasound Machine!
Update, Monday, May 29: We made it to our goal! Thank you so much for your support for this project - as of today we’ve raised $1,275.00 to support the purchase of an Ultrasound Machine for the AGGMC. Thank you again!
Friends, please read on below to learn about the need for a new Ultrasound System for our ministry partners at the Abundant Grace of God Maternity Centre. As you will read, they have already fundraised about two thirds of the money needed for this project. We would like to raise $1,000 towards this project.
You can donate by cash, cheque, or e-transfer to donors@tablechurch.ca (these are the preferred options as there are no fees!). Please ensure the memo is “AGGMC Fundraiser.” You can also donate to this project through the Table Church with a credit card by clicking here.
We will be collecting donations until May 31. Questions? Reach out to us at m2m@tablechurch.ca.
Proposal: Point of Care Ultrasound System (PCUS) for Abundant Grace of God Maternity Center, Inc.
What is the need:
The Abundant Grace of God Maternity Center has been serving the families of Kalinga, Philippines with high quality maternity care since 2007. Since opening we have cared for thousands of families and almost 4000 babies have been born safely at our facility. The staff of AGGMC have also trained dozens of local midwives and offered clinical exposure to hundreds of local midwifery students.
Prenatal care is one of the most important aspects of maternity care and is integral to women having good outcomes in pregnancy. Our goal is to see women regularly throughout their pregnancies from the time they discover they are pregnant until they give birth and then for 6 weeks postpartum.
Having access to ultrasounds in pregnancy is something that we in High Income countries (HIC) take for granted as a part of basic pregnancy care. Here in Kalinga, women need to pay for their own ultrasounds which can cost almost two day’s wage. This amount is not always feasible for the families who make only enough money to buy their daily needs.
Most of our patients can usually only manage to pay for one ultrasound in pregnancy (and sometimes not even that) they typically wait until late in pregnancy to get it done. This is because of the belief that a later ultrasound will give them more information and since they can only afford one, they prefer to wait until later on when the gender can more easily be determined.
We at AGGMC have been working at educating mothers on the importance of early ultrasounds as these are the most helpful clinically because first trimester ultrasounds can estimate a much more accurate due date. This is the most important information because it offers more insight into the health of the pregnancy as a whole. For example, we are able to tell when there may be growth restriction with the baby instead of incorrect dating, or we are able to instruct women more effectively if they are post-dates. However, even with education and advice, most of our patients are still choosing to wait until the end of pregnancy for their ultrasound. We want to do something about this.
How the ultrasound will help: Being able to purchase our own POCUS machine will enable us to offer free in-house ultrasounds to all of our patients in the first trimester which will allow us to date pregnancies more accurately so that we could give better and more informed care to our patients. We will also be able to offer free ultrasounds for baby’s positions, gender, etc, later in pregnancy. (Patients may still be required to have official ultrasound readings, or more in-depth exams if there are problems detected.)
Details on Butterfly ultrasound: The Butterfly is a point of care ultrasound which consists of a probe that we would connect to an iPad or tablet. We asked for advice from the directors of a birthing home that is similar to ours, and they recommended this brand of device as it good quality, affordable and portable. We will offer all of our patients free dating ultrasounds early in pregnancy at our clinic as well as bring the device to our clinic in Bugnay and on outreach to surrounding villages to ensure that all of our patients would benefit.
Do we know how to use this device?: We are fortunate to have connections with multiple professionals who are willing to train our staff on the use of the ultrasound – a local radiologist, a missionary doctor and a missionary ultrasound technologist.
Number of beneficiaries expected: Currently we care for approximately 600 patients a year. Since this will be a free service, we would expect that almost all 600 patients would benefit.
Cost: The cost of the device (including one-year membership to the training platform) is $3371.05USD. We would need to purchase a tablet to use with it which is estimated to cost $300USD. Total: $3671.00
Amount received to date: To date we have raised $2,000USD for the device.
Amount to raise: $1671.00
When funds are needed: Since a local missionary doctor will be returning from the US to the Philippines in May, we had a unique opportunity to order the device immediately so that it could be brought back with him. We will need to complete the payment for the device as soon as possible.
For more information on the device: https://store.butterflynetwork.com/us/en/product-flow/step-1
For more information on the project: Please contact Georgia Macad at director@abundantgraceofgod.com
