THE Rotary Club of St Francis donated a much-needed defibrillator and holter to the community of St Francis Bay.
The medical equipment will be held at Dr Jean Malan’s medical practice at the St Francis Medical Centre, where it will be used to benefit St Francis Bay residents, as well as residents from Sea Vista and China Town.
Malan is also the attending medical practitioner at the St Francis Clinic in Sea Vista.
The donation was made possible through the generosity of a family foundation in the UK, which has chosen to fund projects and causes identified and facilitated through the St Francis Rotarians.
The only other defibrillator available in St Francis Bay is owned by the NSRI, and stored at their base in Port St Francis.
Malan says, “A defibrillator is used to save lives when someone passes out and gets shocked to get the heart going again, while a holter is a simple device to monitor someone’s heart speed and rhythm for up to a week. It clips onto a belt that a patient can carry around.
It is used on a daily basis because of the information it provides.
“Both these devices will benefit the local community tremendously and we are extremely grateful for this donation. It is literally life-saving.”
Rotary Club of St Francis President, Santa Zeiss, says, “We were delighted to be able to facilitate this important donation to our community’s well-being, particularly as it coincides with Rotary International Annual Health Day on October 15.”
