Executive summary 

ELGi Compressors Europe, supported the Italian Red Cross with its urgent compressed air requirement. In line with ELGi’s corporate philanthropic approach, ELGi Europe swiftly and comprehensively made a charitable contribution of an air compressor package for one of Italy’s Red Cross logistic hubs serving the Turin area.

Background 

In February 2021, Italy commemorated the first anniversary of the country’s first COVID-19 case. Vo, a township in the province of Padua in the Veneto region, had registered the country’s first COVID-19 death on February 21, 2020.

During the first wave in 2020, the surge in infections was fast and relentless, as the virus spread from northern Italy to the rest of the nation. Strict lockdowns followed soon after, and several restrictions remained in place to curb the spread of the virus. By the end of the year, the country had registered over two million cases, and the virus continued to have a massive impact on health and society. 

The country-wide lockdown led to a situation the modern world had never seen before. Humanitarian aid in the form of food, medicine, clothing and other essential supplies became a priority as millions required help to secure basic necessities. 

About IFRC 

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the largest humanitarian network globally, helping people in times of crisis. With more than 13.7 million volunteers across the globe, the organization supports over 150 million people facing disasters and health emergencies. 

The Red Cross’s strengths are its vast volunteer network and ties with the community and corporations that assist vulnerable people. Its community-based expertise helps improve the living standards of people in distress, while partnering with stakeholders who can sustain development efforts. The Red Cross volunteers work with multiple stakeholders to shape disaster responses and build resilient communities.

The Italian Red Cross, established in 1864, has been coordinating its COVID-19 response with national and international parties. From March 2020, it has been working with Italy’s Ministry of Health and looked for donations to handle medical supplies and other equipment.

The Red Cross Italy’s Polo Logistico Valle di Susa facility, located in Bussoleno, has been supplying the metropolitan region of Turino with medicines, meals, and supplies during the ordeal. In addition to traditional rescue and ambulance activities, the Red Cross Italy catered to the needs of people in isolation, sanitation of public spaces, evacuation of patients, while assisting withscreening. . 

Furthermore, the facility was fulfilling the accommodation needs of healthcare staff, handling support requests, and running a call centre to investigate seroprevalence.

The challenge 

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed the Italian Red Cross’ efforts to the limit. While the network has experience dealing with first-aid and emergency response, the speed with which the pandemic spread, was unprecedented and caused a stretch on resources and equipment. 

To meet the rising demand for humanitarian aid and bolster the work of its volunteers, the Red Cross Italy requested for various equipment, parts and supplies to keep operations running. With hundreds of thousands of items such as medicines, groceries, clothing, and more, passing through the logistics centre, industrial-grade equipment was needed to maintain vehicles and tools. 

The Italian Red Cross’ existing piston compressor could not meet the demand for high-quality compressed air, and the situation demanded an immediate upgrade. This prompted the Italian Red Cross team to contact ELGi Europe, who immediately responded with an air compressor that addressed and enhanced the operational capacity of the Italian Red Cross logistics centre.

The solution 

ELGi Europe delivered and installed an EN series air station comprising a receiver and fridge dryer, in just a matter of days. The plug and play solution enabled high reliability, ease of maintenance and a small footprint. These features came in handy at the Red Cross’ logistics centre in Italy, as volunteers needed all the time and space they could get for sorting supplies. 

“The COVID emergency has placed pressure on all people and equipment. We contacted ELGi and other companies asking if they could support us with a new air compressor to enhance our operational capacity at the logistics centre. ELGi responded immediately, visited our Centre, analysed our compressed air needs and within days, provided not just an air compressor, but a complete system including a tank and dryer,” said Michele Belmondo, Site Manager at the Red Cross Bussoleno.

The ELGi EN Series is a complete solution for obtaining high-quality compressed air and requires very little maintenance as there is zero leakage due to integrated components and connections. The compressor contains ELGi’s unique assembly design, ensuring energy efficiency and minimal pressure drops. The compressor also has the lowest noise level in the industry, making it the perfect addition to the Italian Red Cross facility. Finally, with cleaner suction air keeping internal components clean and low oil-fill needs, the EN series compressors’ long-lasting life enabled the Italian Red Cross volunteers to focus on what they do best i.e., uninterrupted, critical humanitarian work.

Benefits

 With the high-quality ELGi EN series Air Station, the Red Cross Italy was able to achieve the following:

• Meet the gruelling humanitarian and supply needs of the metropolitan city of Turin 
• Be available 24/7 with transport and equipment that can be mobilised quickly 
• Assist local city authorities with sanitation and monitoring activities, preventing the spread of the virus 

Conclusion 

“At ELGi Compressors Europe, we aspire to be ‘Always Better’ in everything we do – and this includes building long-lasting partnerships with our employees, customers, channel partners and the local communities where we operate. We are grateful for the opportunity to support the Italian Red Cross in its tireless efforts with caring for the local community during these challenging times,” said Chris Ringsletter, President at ELGi Europe.

ELGi catering to the Red Cross needs in Italy, when it mattered most represents its fundamental values. The COVID-19 virus has known no borders and while we strive to emerge from the pandemic, we’ve seen individuals, companies, and governments come together and offer their expertise to help each other. ELGi is championing this by doing what it does best – supplying high-quality air compressors to meet emergency demands and enabling the Red Cross Italy to fulfil its humanitarian commitments.

Executive Summary

The agency’s mission is to help people before, during and after disasters across the USA. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for critical healthcare in rural parts of the country rose rapidly while hospitals were overstretched with COVID-19 patients. Quick to act, the agency introduced a medical solution comprising of innovative mobile acute care units ensuring healthcare was more accessible to rural Americans during the pandemic.

Industry Overview

The World Health Organization (WHO) has predicted that Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) will be the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2030. With other respiratory diseases like COVID-19 on the rise, oxygen is increasingly being used to treat patients. 

The US has the largest[i]share in the medical gases and equipment industry worldwide. An aging population (By 2034, the US geriatric population is slated to reach 77 million, according to the US Census Bureau), the prevalence of lung diseases like asthma, and a rise in the number of road accidents are some of the other factors leading to more demand for medical gases. 

Organisation Overview

Established in 1979 to assist in disaster efforts, the agency helps coordinate resources during emergencies that overstretch local and state capabilities.. To achieve this goal, the agency works towards empowering everyone with the information they need to prepare for disaster impact. 

They came to the fore during natural disasters like hurricane Katrina in 2005 and are now playing a pivotal role in battling the pandemic..

The agency sought to make medical care available in the country more uniform. Critical healthcare was more readily available in urban America compared to rural locations. With COVID-19 hotspots cropping up in the rural USA in addition to urban areas, it was essential to deliver medical care to rural parts of the country quickly. 

Customer Challenge

About 60 million Americans (around 19%[ii] of the total population) live in rural areas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Furthermore, COVID-19 case rates per 100,000 persons were more in rural areas than those in urban. Surprisingly, 63% of rural hospitals do not have ICU beds, making it difficult to treat patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms.. 
During lockdowns, while cities could convert large areas like stadiums into makeshift hospitals, rural areas did not have such infrastructure to do so. Many rural hospitals only had hundred beds and were overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases. Often hard to reach, the agency required mobile units to deliver medical care in such places.

COVID-19 patients were often critical cases, requiring medical-grade breathing air, oxygen, and medical vacuum.. Many components comprise the mobile healthcare unit to ensure purity and dryness complies with NFPA 99 regulations. Thus, building and assembling the smallest unit possible to ensure mobility and code compliance was a challenge.

The Solution

Pattons Medical had developed mobile medical units before the pandemic, but these units became even more critical during COVID-19. Their experience in developing and putting together the smallest possible units helped make optimal mobile ICU units.
Each component of the unit was tested intensively to ensure high quality of operation, easy to install and maintain.

The mobile unit built is a semi-track that, when in place, has panels that expand to fit patients. Hoses with specific fittings coil up to fit in the mobile unit. When these pipes are uncoiled at the site, valve outlets ensure the mobile units work like hospitals on the go.

To combat the c challenge in a mobile unit, Pattons Medical used open configurations to protect pumps. Medical air compressors were used to dry ventilators; as the air is moist and gets into the patients’ lungs, that moisture could be enough to drown them.

In mobile systems, manifolds supply oxygen through eight-cylinder tanks. They employ pressure to force the oxygen through valves and into pipes where nurses may administer it to patients. In the event of a loss of air pressure, alarms are installed on both sides of the semi-track to turn off oxygen and air.

Business Benefits

Wes Chancellor, a Medical Gas Foreman, said, “We were very impressed with the high quality of all equipment shipped to us.” 

Josh Pedraja, Medical Gas/Lab Consultant at Pattons Medical, said, “When I set foot in the first trailer as it was being built, I had a great sense of joy and pride knowing that I helped design these trailers to assist others in times of need. Post pandemic, these trailers will be used for relief work during natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes.”

Conclusion

The agency assisted rural hospitals in the United States in providing crucial healthcare to patients. Their dedication to provide rapid emergency care enabled them to deliver mobile ICU units wherever they were needed the most.

As the pandemic persists, there is a consistent demand for these units. Pattons Medical, as a socially responsible organisation, manufactures these mobile medical units that the agency certifies are equal to those in hospitals.

Information resources:

[i] https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/global-medical-gases-38-equipment-market-industry

[ii] https://www.idsociety.org/globalassets/idsa/public-health/covid-19/covid19-health-disparities-in-rural-communities_leadership-review_final_ab_clean.pdf 

In our fight against the Coronavirus, PPE products have become an essential requirement for the protection of every individual at the frontline, from doctors & medical staff, to policemen, cleaning staff and security & delivery personnel.

Textile units have started allocating their resources towards the production of such protective gear, adjusting to the needs of a changing world.

We’ve brainstormed over several methods by which we will endeavour to ensure safety at the work place and have put together guidance and essential precautions. An exhaustive manual with all safety protocols has been circulated within the team, and employees are encouraged to follow these suggestions, so that their loved ones are safe too.

Here is a list of some of the precautionary measures in place: