Forlì, Italy. [CD-EUDNews. G.Cupertino]. On Thursday, April 9, the first 1,000 FFP2 certified masks for general practitioners were delivered to Dr. Marco Ragazzini, the secretary of the Italian Federation of General Practitioners (FIMMG) of the province of Forlì-Cesena.
The remaining 4,000 will arrive immediately after Easter.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church has decided to purchase them together with the provincial FIMMG, to distribute them to family doctors, along with a contribution of 15,000 euros from the 8x1000 fund (a special fund from the citizen taxes granted to the Italian humanitarian entities). This decision comes from the reality that the procurement of Individual Protection Devices (DPI) is critical, in Italy, as in the rest of the world. In fact, the first supplies have been distributed to doctors and hospital staff, leaving behind the family doctors.
"Many have rightly taken action to help the hospitals most affected by this emergency. After consulting with Dr. Ragazzini, we realized that we also needed to think about general practitioners. They continue to ensure the provision of care service to citizens in the clinic and at home," explains Pastor Stefano Paris, president of the Italian Seventh-day Adventist Church, adding: "The health care system rests decisively on their shoulders: they are the first operators who ensure the protection of the citizens health, both with regard to the influence of coronavirus and other diseases.”
"The masks are CE certified," he specifies, "and correspond to the FFP2 type, technically capable of protecting the wearer from possible contagion, if no invasive manoeuvres are carried out on the patient, such as intubation, which occurs in intensive care wards."
Through its international relations and collaboration with the importer Europence of Ciserano (Bergamo), the Adventist Church, thanks to the 8x1000 funds and the contribution of several donors, has purchased masks of the above-mentioned type for €15,000. These masks are destined to the general practitioners of Cremona, Parma, Forlì-Cesena, and Potenza.
Another 2,500 facial protection devices from the same batch were purchased, separately, by the "Casa Mia" Rest Home in Forlì, also run by the Adventist Church, for their operators.
Like many organizations engaged in social work, the Adventist Church, through ADRA Italy (Adventist Development & Relief Agency) and in collaboration with the Municipality of Cesena, has also activated a home delivery service enlisting eight volunteers who assist thirteen families with purchasing food and various products, for a total of over 1,500 euros.
Furthermore, through the contribution of 8x1000, in order to support people in difficulty due to quarantine, the Adventist Church has set up a free psychological support telephone service. Thirty psychologists and psychotherapists belonging to various professional organizations have made themselves available, as volunteers, to answer the available number, active from Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 12:30 and from 14:00 to 19:00.
This article originally appeared here
