Guyana ProjectGlobal Emergency Medicine

Initiative – GEMINIDr. Ovid Fraser, Rotary Club of Southborough, Director Guyana Project

GEMINI History and Host Countries

Founded in 1999 by Rotarians Paul Gallagher and Jorge Yarzebski, MD, GEMINI has hosted successful projects in

•Armenia

•Honduras

•Guatemala

•The Dominican Republic

•Nicaragua

•Guyana

GEMINI Partners• University of Massachusetts Medical

School Faculty and Staff• Westborough Rotary Club• Host Country Rotary Clubs• District 7910 Rotary Clubs• Rotary International• Medical Professionals• Individual Rotarians

Main GEMINI ProgramMain Areas:

- Disaster Preparedness and Response- Basic Life Support (BLS)- Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)- General Medical Training

Instruction provided by

- Physicians and EMS specialists

Equipment provided by Rotary Clubs and Rotary Grants

The Nation of Guyana

Located on the top of South America

Gained Independence from Great Britain in 1966

A nation with a population of roughly 750,000 representing numerous ethnic and national groups; high educational level

An under-developed country, turning increasingly to ecotourism, possible oil resources, new road to Brazil

Guyana GEMINI Project

Three visitations by teams of physicians and EMS specialists led by Tim Redding, Director of the Northeastern University Paramedic Program and Founder of Emergency Education Consultants

- January , 2012

- June, 2012

- October, 2012 (forthcoming)

The project was assisted by $46k from RI, District 7910, and Rotary Clubs and businesses in Guyana.

Paul Gallagher of the Rotary Club of Westborough and GEMINI Coordinator participated in planning and instructional visits

PROGRAM FOCUSThe first classes served

-Georgetown General Hospital, 16 nurses of which received Certificates of Competence

- Nine participants from Dr. Singh’s Hospital, Davis Memorial Hospital, St. Joseph’s Mercy Hospital and Guyana Red Cross Society

Training was accompanied by equipment and supplies, including defibrillators, bandages and collars

Topics included training in splinting, bandaging, bagging, the use of EMT equipment and the application of First Aid/CPR.

Students were given a GEMINI prepared electronic resource kit on a flash drive

Subsequent team visits

- evaluated the capacity of trained teachers to teach

- After final visit will have trained 70-75 nurses + 10-12 trainers

In the words of Tim Redding, the “passion and interest the students had to learn the material was impressive. Many students excelled, worked hard and had fun. We look forward to our next trip.” For further information on GEMINI and the Guyana project visit the GEMINI website (http://www.gemininow.org/) GEMINI welcomes new participants and club support.