Donation of a Tensile Structure with a Lab and Dressing Rooms for Nursing Course

Project location: Italy, L'Aquila
Project start date: July 2009 - Project end date: July 2011
Project number: 2009-33
Beneficiary: ASL Avezzano Sulmona L'Aquila

Two tents, with a total surface of 50 square meters, for the lectures halls and cloakroom and one central tent, used as waiting room and connected with the others, were donated by the Nando Peretti Foundation to the nursing school of the University of L'Aquila, attended yearly by almost 100 students. Each tent is air-conditioned and equipped with folding chairs,
video and sound systems.

These structures have been used, for the "Laboratory of Nursing", by about 750 students from the Degree Course in Nursing. Every day from October 2009, from Monday to Friday with 30 students per day, the classrooms were used for the simulation of nursing interventions on patients, using puppets. During this training, resuscitation and emergency nursing, positioning and transport of patients under normal conditions and emergency situations were performed. The rooms were also used for lectures and have allowed a mobile external accommodation for the students. The classrooms have also accepted conventions and meetings to update medical staff of Ospedale San Salvatore, without additional cost for the administration of the hospital. The good quality of the tents and the presence of air conditioning system have guaranteed utilization also during raining and snowing days, without any problem of seepage of water or cold, in a land where winter temperatures are
below 0°C and snow is frequent.

The advanced "My Lab 50 Gold ultrasound scanner", donated to the hospital from the Nando Peretti Foundation, has been used every day from October 2009. The ultrasonography, used during the visit before the treatment, may reduce the waiting time of the oncologic patients, improving the accuracy of the diagnosis and the quality of life. Almost four patients every day have received ultrasonagraphy of the neck, the breast, the abdomen and the lymphonodes. This equipment has an advanced technology with three probes, including transvaginal and transrectal probe, excellent for clinical applications: it is easy for the medical staff to use it. Thanks to the improved accuracy of outpatient visit, this donation has allowed the medical
staff to improve the quality of assistance and the reputation of the department of Oncology. In the future, the medical staff wishes to extend this technique to patient in radiation treatment for localization of the target volume: this application allows a higher accuracy of radiation
therapy in the treatment of tumor of abdomen and of prostate. The use of this modern ultrasound scanner shall be extended to the radiologists of Diagnostic Department, in selected patients, because in the Hospital presently there is no transrectal probe.

In February 2011 the three inflatable tents donated by the Nando Peretti Foundation to the San Salvatore Hospital of L'Aquila were requested on free loan by the Association of Public Assistance "Gran Sasso Soccorso onlus" - a volunteers association registered with the civil protection - to be used in case of emergency on the territory.
Such tents are very easy to disassemble, transport and store in a warehouse and very rapid to install.
The Association will take care of the maintenance of the tents, which will remain the property of ASL L'Aquila.
All the furniture, medical equipments, video and sound systems will also remain the property of ASL. In fact, from April 2010 all the equipments were transferred to the new lectures halls, built from the University of L'Aquila.