Parent Organization – Mountain Heart Nepal with support from Siddhasthali Rural Community Hospital delivered oxygen therapy equipment received from Direct Relief to a health clinic located at an altitude of 4000 m.
The rural health clinic located in Pangboche received 5 units of the oxygen concentrator donated by Direct Relief. Pangboche is a village located in the Solukhumbu (Everest) region of Nepal at an altitude of 3,985 m. The village is inhabited mainly by mountaineering Sherpas.
The oxygen therapy equipment was delivered to the Pangboche clinic on Feb 9, 2022 by a group of medical volunteers from Mountain Heart Nepal. Dr Aban Gautam, founder of the non-profit said “Evidence shows that oxygen concentrators work at extremes of altitude. The device received from Direct Relief will offer an effective and economical substitute for compressed oxygen cylinders to meet the long-term oxygen needs of this rural and remote community. They will be critical to treating trekkers suffering from high altitude sickness and locals with various respiratory conditions including COVID-19.”
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal, oxygen concentrators have been vital in Siddhasthali Rural Community Hospital and Mountain Heart Nepal’s response to providing life-saving oxygen therapy to rural health clinics with limited resources.