Technology companies Altron, Altech and the Vodacom Foundation are sponsoring a hi-tech health facility that specialises in maternal and child healthcare.
The Shandukani Maternal & Child Health Centre, in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, was officially handed over to the Department of Health, on Friday.
The facility is a public-private partnership between Altron, Altech, Vodacom Foundation, the Gauteng Department of Health and the Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute (WRHI).
Altron says the facility is notable for its state-of-the-art technology and integrated approach to healthcare. “Shandukani brings a hi-tech health and research facility to a community characterised by above-average rates of HIV and infectious diseases, and ensures that vulnerable women and children have access to expert medical care and treatment on their doorstep.”
Global links
In terms of the technology used at the facility, WRHI says Shandukani has employed high-quality oxygen and gas ducting, heating, a ducted fresh-air system being favoured over traditional air-conditioning (where operating energy costs would have been extremely high), and motion-sensitive lighting.
data/server room equipment. This is imperative as the research being done in the Shandukani Research Centre needs to have instantaneous links across the globe - the research is relevant to the inner city, the country, the continent and the international community,” says the institute.
It adds that mobile examination lights and the operating light in the small procedures room are top-of-the-range equipment seldom found elsewhere in a public facility.
“Additionally, within the research centre there are 70-degree freezers, centrifuges and temperature loggers connected to the Web. The research area was purposefully built to house a clinical research site. As a result, the layout, flow (separation of public and private sides), server room and data archive room are very specifically designed to meet research needs.”
Health research
In addition to its role as a working labour ward and maternal health facility, Shandukani will be used to train healthcare providers, community workers and researchers, according to Altron.
It is also “home to a world-class research team working on a range of health-related topics of national and regional significance, including HIV and AIDS, TB, maternal and child healthcare, infectious diseases, reproductive health and social science”.
Vodacom says the Shandukani facility will see over 300 babies being delivered per month. It is estimated that 30% of women attending the clinic are HIV positive, and the centre expects to prevent transmission of HIV to about 85 newborns every month. Shandukani will be one of the largest non-hospital-based clinics in southern Africa with 800 consultations each month, excluding deliveries.
Share
