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Questions And Answers
This section answers questions about the proposed Intensive Care Burn Center for Children
Benjamin Bloom Children’s Hospital in San Salvador, El Salvador.
Q.Why is an Intensive Care Burn Center for Children (ICBCC) needed?
Every year up to 100 children in El Salvador are victims of acute or severe burns
requiring intensive care treatment. Currently the only treatment facility for these
critically burned young patients is an open area in the Benjamin Bloom Hospital for Children
in San Salvador, a 310 bed hospital that last year had 16,800 children, twelve years and under,
as in patients.
Severely burned patients can be easily contaminated in such open area conditions.
In addition the current burn unit at Benjamin Bloom is not equipped with the proper
equipment such critical patients require such as pulse oximeter monitors used to
register their vital signs, a ventilator, infusion pumps, suction pumps, a
defibrillator and special beds for severely burned children.
Without proper treatment conditions and essential equipment,
severely burned children are highly susceptible to infections.
Presently, this is often the case at Benjamin Bloom.
Once infection sets in, these youngsters not only face long
hospital stays, up to an average of 30 days, but require massive
doses of costly antibiotics, and undergo unnecessary pain and suffering.
Tragically, some never recover and their young lives are lost.
Q. What conditions require intensive care treatment?
Children with second degree burns over 20% of their body.
Children with third degree burns over 10% of their body.
Children with electrical burns, chemical burns, or inhalation injury.
Children with burn injury and pre-existing medical disorder or trauma.
Q. How many patients will the Intensive Care Burn Center for Children be able to treat?
The ICBCC will be able to accommodate 16 patients at a time.
Its 16 beds will include 6 for very acute patients and 10 for near acute patients.
With an average stay of 25 days, the ICBCC would be able to treat up to 100 very acute burn patients and 300 not as acute children per year.
It is anticipated that these children would come from Honduras and Guatemala as well as El Salvador, since children from all three countries are treated at Benjamin Bloom.
Q. How much land is available and how was it obtained?
Currently a parking lot for staff members, the land for the new ICBCC covers approximately 360 meters.
It belongs to Benjamin Bloom Children’s Hospital.
The Hospital Director has authorized the use of this land for construction of the ICBCC.
Q. What will be the costs of equipping the ICBBC?
It is estimated that $450,000 will be required to equip the ICBCC. This will include:
Operating Room:
Surgical table
Overhead Lamp
Anesthesia Machine
Vital Signs Monitor
Debibrilator
Electrosurgical Unit
Intensive Care Units: (6)
Vital signs Monitor Invasive and non-invasive
Ventilator (volume/pressure)
Special bed for acute burn patients
Infusion pump
Suction pump
Defibrilator
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