Deadly Mahdia Fire: Critically injured teen medevacked to US hospital

One of the girls who sustained critical injuries following the Mahdia Secondary School’s deadly dormitory fire, was flown on Saturday to Northwell Health Burn Care Centre in New York to seek advanced medical care.
The critically injured 13-year-old child was picked up by the Global Rescue Ambulance via the Air Ambulance at Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA).
In a statement on Saturday afternoon, the Health Ministry said that around 12:30h on Saturday, one of the two critically ill girls from the Mahdia fire, who was a patient at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation’s (GPHC) Intensive Care Unit (ICU), was medically evacuated to the Northwell Health Burn Care Center, Staten Island University Hospital.

The thirteen-year-old girl was accompanied by her mother to New York. The mother will receive support from the Northwell Hospital, which has waived all costs for medical care.
The child was among several others who was admitted to the medical facility on May 22 following the fire at Mahdia. While at the GPHC, she underwent two surgeries and her condition, though critical, improved steadily, the Ministry said on Saturday.
“This transfer was deemed necessary out of an abundance of precaution and made in the best interest of the patient,” the Ministry said.
The Global Rescue Air Ambulance departed CJIA with the child at about 14:25h and is expected to arrive in New York at 23:30h on Saturday night.
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues, who is presently serving as Guyana’s UN Representative in New York, will give all necessary support to the mother and child, the Ministry noted.
“The GPHC team, led by Dr Shilindra Rajkumar, Head of the Burns Unit, and his team of doctors, were on hand to assist in the movement of the patient from GPHC to CJIA. The hospital’s Director of Medical and Professional Services, Dr Navin Rambaran and other GPHC doctors, and Mr Robbie Rambarran, the Chief Executive Officer of the GPHC, were also present. The Minister of Health, Honourable Dr Frank Anthony and Advisor to the Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, present this morning to see the departure of the child and to give support to the father and mother,” the Ministry’s statement read.

The GPHC team, the Ministry said, had discussed with several of the top hospitals in the United States of America, the possibility of offering specialised medical care for the child and it was agreed that the child would be best managed at the Northwell Burn Care Center, Staten Island University Hospital in New York.
“Northwell Burns Center in New York is recognised among the top burn centres globally. The Ministry of Health and the GPHC wish the child a full and speedy recovery. President Ali pledges full Governmental support to the family to see the safe return of the child,” the statement said.
Over the week, the Government has received several offers of medical assistance from various regional and international partners.
The Cuban Government pledged medical support where needed and a team of DNA experts from Barbados aided with the identification of students who died due to the fire.
Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, had said on Tuesday that regional airline LIAT, which is currently doing limited commercial flights, has been instructed to transport the burn victims to Barbados if needed. He noted that his Government will foot the bill for the airlifts and collaborate with the airline’s court-appointed administrator to coordinate the logistics of getting the injured children to Barbados for specialised medical treatment.
Samples from the forensic specimens taken from 13 female students, whose bodies were deemed unrecognisable, were obtained by specialist pathologist Dr Shubhakker Karra Paul, who flew in from Barbados on Tuesday.
Subsequently, Professor and System Chair, Dr Carlos Cordon-Cardo and a team of experts in the Pathology Laboratory of New York-based Mount Sinai completed the DNA analysis and positively identified the bodies on Friday.
Meanwhile, during a press conference on Thursday, President Dr Irfaan Ali had revealed that requests made to Mount Sinai, Northwell Health, the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO) and Southcom Health Clinic to provide specialised counselling were also approved.
He added his hope for these specialised councillors to aid the local mental health teams in Mahdia, Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni) in providing the best care to those affected by the tragic incident.