Užice Hospital Projects

October 2017 – New ultrasound system delivered to Užice Hospital

On Monday, October 2nd, 2017, SAMA Representatives Dr. Ivan Aksentijevich, Mr. Branko Palikuća and Mr. Zoran Mladenović visited the Užice Hospital to officially deliver Mindray DC-70 Ultrasound system donated by SAMA. We met with Dr. Miloš Božović, director of the Health Center and Dr. Aleksandra Vračarić who worked with SAMA on this donation. The funds for this ultrasound system were collected during the Chicago Fundraiser in May 2017. The event was sponsored by Mr.Branko Palikuća at his restaurant Amber Café in Chicago.

The staff at Užice Hospital is very grateful for this donation. Dr. Aleksandra Vračarić, former deputy General Manager of the HC Užice said: “Nemam reči da se zahvalim gospodinu Palikući (već sam kontaktirala sa njim posle donatorske večere) i Vašoj organizaciji, kao i svim donatorima na velikoj pomoći našoj ustanovi.” (I have no words to express our gratitude to Mr. Palikuća, your organization, and all the donors for this donation to our Hospital.”).

The new ultrasound system is located in two rooms that were completely remodeled free of charge by Mr. Dušan Popadić, a contractor from Užice.  With this ultrasound, physicians in Užice will be able to evaluate 20,000 patients every year.  We also identified an additional need for a cardiac probe, special ultrasound software and a thermal printer.

March 27, 2017: New defibrillator delivered to Užice Hospital

During our October 2016 trip to Serbia (trip report), we visited Užice General Hospital and met with Dr. Aleksandra Vračarić, then deputy director of the Užice Health Center (including the hospital) and Dr. Dara Savić-Bozović, head of the Pediatrics and Neonatology Department. Užice General Hospital is the fourth largest hospital in Serbia, serving about 350,000 people in the Zlatibor district. The hospital and health center receive government funding that barely covers operational expenses (salaries, materials, etc.), and is certainly not enough for any capital equipment purchases.

The hospital was in need of defibrillator with pediatric paddles to be used in the pediatrics department. In addition, there was only one functioning ultrasound system in this entire hospital. To make things worse, the hospital has had a significant increase in the number of cases being served by the radiology department with that single ultrasound system (over 16,000 cases in 2014, and over 27,000 cases in 2015). We committed to help with both defibrillator and the ultrasound system.

Since the defibrillator was a relatively small project (the exact cost was $5044), we immediately started the project to procure it. In discussions with Dr. Vračarić, it was determined that the Nihon-Kohden TEC5631 K defibrillator would the right equipment. SAMA worked with Trivax DDO in Belgrade, a local distributor for Nihon-Kohden equipment in Serbia, to procure the defibrillator.

Nihon Kohden TEC1531 Defibrillator donated to Užice Hospital

Medical staff at Užice Hospital exploring the new defibrillator

The second phase of this SAMA project to help Užice General Hospital is to procure a new ultrasound system. The cost of this system is expected to be in the range of $20,000 to $25,000. With the help of SAMA board member Branko Palikuća, we will be having a fundraiser in Chicago on May 11th to collect funds for the purchase of the ultrasound system. You can find more details about this fundraiser here.

Working with Dr. Vračarić, we have identified the Mindray DC-60 as the ultrasound system that would be adequate and greatly support the work by Užice General Hospital.

The key features of this system are:

  • 17” LED monitor high resolution for observation
  • 10,4” touch screen monitor integrated in control panel for easier operation
  • Scanning modes: B,Color,PW Doppler,Power Doppler, Directional PDI
  • Image display modes: B,2B,4B,B/C,B/M,B/PW,Triplex
  • Applications and calculations for radiology
  • Quick image optimization: I Touch
  • One click full screen zoom: I Zoom
  • Spatial compound imaging for better visualization
  • Trapezoidal image for linear probes
  • Integrated DVD/RW and 5 USB ports
  • Transducers:
    • Convex transducer 2,0-6,0 MHz type 3C5A
    • High frequency linear transducer 3,5-16 MHz type L14-6NE

You can find more information about the system here.