Working to save lives

In Zambia and other low-resource areas, supplies are desperately needed. Through in-country partners and our Medical Donations Program, CMMB is working to protect the safety of healthcare workers and stock facilities with lifesaving supplies and equipment essential to treat patients with COVID-19.

NEW YORK (PRWEB)
March 27, 2020

“The people there don’t realize what’s coming. I feel it’s a bit like the frog in the pot of slowly boiling water, completely carefree until it’s too late,” says Cassie Richens, a volunteer nurse with CMMB who recently returned from Mwandi, Zambia.

“I had enough cell service that I could constantly scroll the news. Every day, I watched as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the world. However, the main thing I watched is how COVID-19 is creeping into Africa. When coronavirus does reach sub-Saharan Africa, where there are the world’s most fragile health systems, it could be completely devastating.”

Communities around Mwandi, like so many others, are extremely vulnerable. HIV is prevalent, malnutrition is a major concern. There are weakened immune systems everywhere. In Mwandi, there is only one small hospital, without an x-ray machine, and no ventilators. In the outer districts, further from the communities, are small clinics, within even less supplies.

“Right now, we are urgently looking to expand our partnerships to accelerate these lifesaving efforts, as they are needed now more than ever with the threat of COVID-19,” states Bruce Wilkinson, CEO of CMMB.

To educate the public on COVID-19 prevention and treatment, CMMB’s technical team is rapidly implementing new COVID-19 training for in-country healthcare workers. This training will ensure that all have a firm understanding of COVID-19 signs and symptoms as well as best practices and protocols for prevention, control, and mitigation.

In these low-resource settings, critical, lifesaving supplies, and equipment are lacking. Through in-country partners and a robust Medical Donations Program, CMMB is quickly working to stock health facilities with personal protection items and lifesaving supplies and equipment essential to treat patients with serious cases of COVID-19.

CMMB is working with their current partners and is reaching out to others to help provide essential medical supplies to healthcare workers and health facilities. Personal protective equipment, including face masks, gloves, gowns, face shield, goggles are a priority. Medical equipment, including ventilators and other respiratory support, generators and antiviral and antibiotic medications are critical.

If you would like to help, email cmmb at info@cmmb.org or visit their website at cmmb.org.

“We are doing everything in our power to sound the alarm of the storm that is looming,” says Wilkinson. “We are one human family, all brothers and sisters and if we don’t act now, if we don’t come together, there is no telling the toll this will take on these innocent lives.”

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Prefix team member, Steve Cummings volunteers to work the face-shield production line.

During times like these, we must all ask ourselves, how we can assist our community, help our neighbors, and make a positive difference for others.

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (PRWEB)
March 27, 2020

“We can do this!” exclaimed Prefix Founder, Kim Zeile. Zeile, who founded the Rochester Hills based company over 40 years ago. “During times like these, we must all ask ourselves, how we can assist our community, help our neighbors, and make a positive difference for others.”

Prefix is one of the country’s most highly-regarded companies for the creation of prototypes, concept vehicles, and design mock-ups, but earlier this week they re-tooled, purchased over 6000lbs of required materials, and engineered a design for protective face shields. The shields are now being used by area first responders and heath care workers, and staff members at Prefix are working as fast as they can to meet the current demand.

The process requires, engineering, tooling, stamping, water-jet cutting and assembly. All capabilities found under one roof at Prefix. “The first responders we initially spoke with asked for something durable enough to be used for a longer period of time.” explained Zeile. “So… we engineered a model that is heavier duty, and longer lasting. Our team is proud of what we were able to design, in such a short time. Never in my 40 years of operating Prefix would I have believe that we would be involved in such a uncertain world. I am just happy to respond with something that helps our community, and helps our employees to realize what a difference we can make, regardless of the challenge.”

Prefix will continue to produce the shields as long as there is such a crucial demand, and they can obtain the required resources.

For additional information on Prefix and their history, visit: http://www.PREFIX.com

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NEW HAVEN, Conn. (PRWEB)
March 27, 2020

Fitscript LLC, a Connecticut venture-backed company helping people living with diabetes meet exercise requirements, today announced that the company is offering its digital therapeutic product, GlucoseZone, for free to any person living with diabetes during the COVID-19 emergency. GlucoseZone is the first patented and clinically validated digital therapy proven to use exercise to help people with diabetes maintain healthy weight and lower their A1c levels.

Access to safe and effective exercise is especially critical for people with diabetes during the pandemic, as people with diabetes are at higher risk from coronavirus than the general population. GlucoseZone makes it possible for them to safely and effectively exercise at home.

“GlucoseZone was created for people living with diabetes as a way to ensure they can get the safe and effective exercise they need wherever they are located,” said Charlie O’Connell, founder of GlucoseZone and patient entrepreneur. “For this reason, we are providing GlucoseZone for free to people living with diabetes who can’t get access to gyms and fitness centers during this COVID-19 emergency. Diabetes doesn’t stop for coronavirus, and people with diabetes need to maintain their fitness and be even more vigilant during this time.”

The GlucoseZone program is the first digital exercise solution that offers guidance, support and coaching based on the user’s individual requirements, including their real-time glucose levels and other biometric data captured from wearable devices such as glucose meters, insulin pumps and heart rate monitors. GlucoseZone enables people living with diabetes to incorporate exercise wherever they are and at whatever stage of their disease, and represents an important step in making affordable, real-time exercise support accessible using digital technology.

Fitscript is a Connecticut Innovations portfolio company that provides GlucoseZone to major health plans, providers and payers in the state, including the State of Connecticut’s Health Enhancement Program (HEP), the City of New Haven, Yale New Haven Health System, Griffin Health, ConnectiCare and others.

Diabetes and prediabetes impact the lives and health of more than 114 million Americans. GlucoseZone’s content has been accessed by millions of users around the world.

About GlucoseZone by Fitscript LLC:

Created in 2012, Fitscript LLC was founded to help people living with diabetes meet the exercise requirement for safely and effectively reducing and controlling their diabetes. Fitscript’s patented, proprietary GlucoseZone program, now with more than 1 million users, is the first-ever digital exercise solution for people with diabetes that helps improve their A1c levels and achieve weight loss based on real-time glucose levels. The GlucoseZone app contains live and on-demand exercise solutions, interactive workouts, diabetes discussions and much more. The app is available on iOS and Android. To learn more about GlucoseZone, please visit http://www.glucosezone.com. Connect with GlucoseZone’s social media channels: http://www.youtube.com/GlucoseZone and http://www.facebook.com/glucosezone.

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YORBA LINDA, Calif. (PRWEB)
March 26, 2020

LabRoots, the leading scientific social networking website offering premier, interactive virtual events and webinars, will be hosting approximately over 12,000 physicians, researchers, health educators, pharmacists, clinicians, scientists and industry and academia professionals who are committed to learning current information on implementing infection prevention and control measures and assessing risks for exposures about Coronavirus (COVID-19). The first Coronavirus Webinar of the ongoing series commences on April 2nd, offering guidance and emerging developments regarding the evolving COVID-19 pandemic.

Kicking off the free Coronavirus Virtual Webinar Series, the event will feature an impressive agenda of recognized leaders who will present on topics covering, the origins and symptoms of COVID-19, laboratory tests in COVID-19 diagnosis and treatment, and the containment of COVID-19 cases.

Highlighting “Specimen Collection and Laboratory Safety,” a panel of five renowned experts with diverse backgrounds will examine specifically how samples are collected and processed to be tested in reference laboratories, best practices in collecting respiratory (swab) specimens and the effective protection for sampling staff, protection for laboratory professionals when handling blood, urine, stool and respiratory specimens, next-generation sequencing as it plays a significant role in the diagnosis, and the utility of nucleic acid and antibody tests as it relates to the importance of sampling locations and clinical sensitivity.

This full day of cutting-edge presentations delivered by prominent speakers also spans important areas encompassing laboratory diagnosis of Wuhan SARS-CoV-2 infections: current status to review the current laboratory methods available and random-access, point-of-care molecular devices for rapid and accurate diagnosis – such assays can be used in the local hospitals and clinics bearing the burden of identifying and treating patients; a session introduced by Li Jiang, MD, PHD, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital and Center for Clinical Laboratories (SPCCL) on the implementation of molecular diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2; and a SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19: Emergence, Biology, and Countermeasures) presentation shared by Dr. Mark Denison, Director, Division of Infectious Diseases, Craig-Weaver Professor of Pediatrics, Professor of Pathology, Microbiology & Immunology, at Vanderbilt University round out the program.

Greg Cruikshank, Chief Executive Officer of LabRoots said, “The emergence and rapid increase in cases of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continue to cause complex challenges to global public health. Through our collaborative platform, we are excited to continue our strong foothold and presence in the online virtual conference arena to positively impact the scientific community. By offering an educational forum to the world, attendees of our newly added Coronavirus Webinar Series can be further prepared for COVID-19 by learning more about the need for prompt diagnosis, robust research, and understanding of biology and science to develop effective countermeasures,” added Cruikshank.

Produced on LabRoots’ robust platform, this online environment with exhibit and poster halls, and networking lounge allows attendees to connect seamlessly across all desktop and mobile devices. By participating in this webinar series, you can earn 1 Continuing Education credit per presentation.

For more information or to register for the event, click here. Participants can follow the conversation online by using #LRcoronavirus.

About LabRoots

LabRoots is the leading scientific social networking website, and primary source for scientific trending news and premier educational virtual events and webinars and more. Contributing to the advancement of science through content sharing capabilities, LabRoots is a powerful advocate in amplifying global networks and communities. Founded in 2008, LabRoots emphasizes digital innovation in scientific collaboration and learning. Offering more than articles and webcasts that go beyond the mundane and explore the latest discoveries in the world of science, LabRoots users can stay atop their field by gaining continuing education credits from a wide range of topics through their participation in the webinars and virtual events.

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“We are proud to name Dr. Harpreet Wadhwa as a UroLift Center of Excellence and provider of care for men with enlarged prostate symptoms using the UroLift System treatment,” said Dave Amerson

PLEASANTON, Calif. (PRWEB)
March 27, 2020

NeoTract, a wholly owned subsidiary of Teleflex Incorporated (NYSE:TFX) focused on addressing unmet needs in the field of urology, today announced that Harpreet Wadhwa, M.D., East Valley Urology Center in Mesa, AZ has been designated as a UroLift® Center of Excellence. The designation recognizes that Dr. Wadhwa has achieved a high level of training and experience with the UroLift® System and demonstrated a commitment to exemplary care for men suffering from symptoms associated with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), also known as enlarged prostate.

Recommended for the treatment of BPH in both the American Urological Association and European Association of Urology clinical guidelines, the FDA-cleared Prostatic Urethral Lift procedure using the UroLift System is a proven, minimally invasive technology for treating lower urinary tract symptoms due to BPH. The UroLift permanent implants, delivered during a transurethral outpatient procedure, relieve prostate obstruction and open the urethra directly without cutting, heating, or removing prostate tissue.

The UroLift Center of Excellence program is designed to highlight urologists who are committed to educating their patients on BPH and the UroLift System as a treatment option and consistently seek to deliver excellent patient outcomes and experiences.

“We are proud to name Dr. Harpreet Wadhwa as a UroLift Center of Excellence and provider of care for men with enlarged prostate symptoms using the UroLift System treatment,” said Dave Amerson, president of the Teleflex Interventional Urology business unit. “The UroLift System is a safe and effective treatment that allows physicians to treat men in-office under local anesthesia, so they can experience lasting symptom relief within days after receiving treatment.”

Over 40 million men in the United States are affected by BPH, a condition that occurs when the prostate gland that surrounds the male urethra becomes enlarged with advancing age and begins to obstruct the urinary system. Symptoms of BPH often include interrupted sleep and urinary problems and can cause loss of productivity, depression and decreased quality of life.

Medication is often the first-line therapy for enlarged prostate, but relief can be inadequate and temporary. Side effects of medication treatment can include sexual dysfunction, dizziness and headaches, prompting many patients to quit using the drugs. For these patients, the classic alternative is surgery that cuts, heats or removes prostate tissue to open the blocked urethra. While current surgical options can be very effective in relieving symptoms, they can also leave patients with permanent side effects such as urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction, and retrograde ejaculation.

About the UroLift® System

The FDA-cleared UroLift System is a proven, minimally invasive technology for treating lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The UroLift permanent implants, delivered during a minimally invasive transurethral outpatient procedure, relieve prostate obstruction and open the urethra directly without cutting, heating, or removing prostate tissue. Clinical data from a pivotal 206-patient randomized controlled study showed that patients with enlarged prostate receiving UroLift implants reported rapid and durable symptomatic and urinary flow rate improvement without compromising sexual function*1,2. Patients also experienced a significant improvement in quality of life. Over 100,000 men have been treated with the UroLift System in the U.S. Most common adverse events reported include hematuria, dysuria, micturition urgency, pelvic pain, and urge incontinence. Most symptoms were mild to moderate in severity and resolved within two to four weeks after the procedure. The Prostatic Urethral Lift procedure using the UroLift System is recommended for the treatment of BPH in both the American Urological Association and European Association of Urology clinical guidelines. The UroLift System is available in the U.S., Europe, Australia, Canada, Mexico and South Korea. Learn more at http://www.UroLift.com.

About NeoTract | Teleflex Interventional Urology

A wholly owned subsidiary of Teleflex Incorporated, the Interventional Urology Business Unit is dedicated to developing innovative, minimally invasive and clinically effective devices that address unmet needs in the field of urology. Our initial focus is on improving the standard of care for patients with BPH using the UroLift System, a minimally invasive permanent implant system that treats symptoms while preserving normal sexual function*1,2. Learn more at http://www.NeoTract.com.

About Teleflex Incorporated

Teleflex is a global provider of medical technologies designed to improve the health and quality of people’s lives. We apply purpose driven innovation – a relentless pursuit of identifying unmet clinical needs – to benefit patients and healthcare providers. Our portfolio is diverse, with solutions in the fields of vascular and interventional access, surgical, anesthesia, cardiac care, urology, emergency medicine and respiratory care. Teleflex employees worldwide are united in the understanding that what we do every day makes a difference. For more information, please visit http://www.teleflex.com.

Teleflex is the home of Arrow®, Deknatel®, Hudson RCI®, LMA®, Pilling®, Rusch®, UroLift® and Weck® – trusted brands united by a common sense of purpose

For Teleflex Incorporated:

Jake Elguicze, 610.948.2836

Treasurer and Vice President, Investor Relations

Media:

Nicole Osmer, 650.454.0504 nicole@healthandcommerce.com

*No instances of new, sustained erectile or ejaculatory dysfunction

1. Roehrborn, J Urology 2013 LIFT Study

2.McVary, J Sex Med 2016

MAC00968-01 Rev A

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We want existing patients and anyone else in need to know that they can come to our state of the art facility instead of heading to an already overburdened hospital, stated Kerisimasi Reynolds, MD

FREMONT, Calif. (PRWEB)
March 26, 2020

In an effort to help ease the load on hospitals, emergency rooms, and urgent care facilities treating patients with COVID-19, Silicon Valley Orthopaedics announced it will be providing walk-in orthopedic services at its state of the art facility at 39180 Farwell Drive in Fremont, CA. SVO offers in-house same day X-rays, MRI, injections, leg and arm cast applications as needed for fractures, physical therapy and surgery as indicated for select patients.

It is important to understand that these services are for patients with orthopaedic problems, injuries and pain who are NOT experiencing any symptoms of Coronavirus such as fevers, cough, shortness of breath. If you have any of these symptoms you should call or be evaluated by your local emergency room.

For those not experiencing Coronavirus symptoms but have pain or are in need of urgent orthopedic care, patients can either walk-in or contact Silicon Valley Orthopaedics at http://www.siliconvalleyortho.com or 650-379-4616.

SVO is also providing telemedicine services.

Dr. Reynolds can be reached at https://doxy.me/drmasireynolds

Dr. Gay can be reached at https://doxy.me/drnicgay

“We want existing patients and anyone else in need to know that they can come to our state of the art facility instead of heading to an already overburdened hospital,” stated Kerisimasi Reynolds, MD, co-founder and orthopedic surgeon at Silicon Valley Orthopaedics. “For patients that do not have Coronavirus symptoms, they may call the office or walk into our clinic in Fremont at any time between 8 am and 5 pm PST, Monday through Friday, and we will see them,” added Nic Gay, MD, also a co-founder and orthopedic surgeon at SVO.

There are multiple reasons for Silicon Valley Orthopaedics implementing a walk-in system, including the fact that acute orthopedic patients with injuries have urgent orthopedic care needs, even at this time. Silicon Valley Orthopaedics is also working closely with hospitals and other acute care centers in the Freemont and surrounding areas to make sure that their expertise is available at this time.

The team at Silicon Valley Orthopaedics is dedicated to providing effective, long-lasting joint pain relief and improved mobility for their patients.

More about Dr. Nic Gay and Dr. Kerisimasi Reynolds:

Dr. Nic Gay completed medical school at Baylor College of Medicine and his residency at the University of Pennsylvania. He is an orthopedic surgeon focusing primarily on lower extremity reconstruction or surgical conditions of the leg. He treats all musculoskeletal conditions in both adults and children. Dr. Gay takes a comprehensive approach to care by customizing a treatment plan that fits each patient’s lifestyle, work requirements and family situation.

Dr. Masi Reynolds completed his general internship and orthopedic surgery residency through Henry Ford Health Systems Michigan State University in Detroit, Michigan. He then completed a sports medicine and arthroscopy fellowship with Sports Orthopedic and Rehabilitation (SOAR). He has a special interest in treating the active population, including athletes of at all levels, as well as volunteer orthopedic surgery mission work in underserved countries.

Silicon Valley Orthopaedics can be contacted at http://www.siliconvalleyortho.com or 650-379-4616.

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iFirst Analyzer

“COVID-19 poses a grave danger to public health here in the U.S. and around the globe,” said Luke Joseph, CEO of iFirst. “We at iFirst are compelled to act. Broad-based testing and on-the-spot results promise to slow the spread and save human lives.”

HONOLULU (PRWEB)
March 26, 2020

iFirst Medical Technologies, Inc., a leader in handheld diagnostic devices, announced today that it has begun rapid development of COVID-19 nasal swab test.

“COVID-19 poses a grave danger to public health here in the U.S. and around the globe,” said Luke Joseph, CEO of iFirst. “We at iFirst are compelled to act. Broad-based testing and on-the-spot results promise to slow the spread and save human lives.”

iFirst has begun rapid development of a nasal swab test for use with the handheld iFirst Analyzer™ to detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19.

Upon successful validation of its COVID-19 Test, iFirst plans to seek Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The iFirst Analyzer is a handheld diagnostic device, with onboard chemistry and optical analytics. It also has integrated GPS and wireless transmission of results to the iFirst Cloud™, enabling effective public health surveillance. This takes the form of real-time, automated reporting and mapping of outbreak hotspots, informing authorities and enabling better containment of the spread of an epidemic or a pandemic.

Critical use cases include ports of entry and enabling health care workers to evaluate and test quarantined patients in their homes. Mobile, in-home testing would ease the burden on clinics and hospitals as well as lessen the risk of social spread of disease.

iFirst has engaged Underwriters Laboratories and expects to complete UL testing and CE mark certification of the iFirst Analyzer during the second quarter of 2020. The CE mark indicates that a product may be sold freely in any part of the European Economic Area, irrespective of its country of origin.

Prior to COVID-19, the world has experienced threats from coronaviruses including SARS in 2003 and MERS in 2012. The underlying science used in the development of the test to detect SARS-CoV-2 (which causes COVID-19) enables rapid development of tests for the unfortunate reality of future coronaviruses.

Honolulu-based iFirst is collaborating with researchers at the University of Hawai’i John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM). The company’s iFirst Analyzer technology has been bench tested at JABSOM as well as Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.

In 2017, the iFirst Analyzer was recognized by NASA iTech as one of the Top 10 technologies that are solving problems on Earth and have the potential to address existing challenges to enable NASA missions.

“iFirst is on the forefront of diagnostic technology, with research and development that saves lives and advances humanity,” said Kevin Lye, M.D., the company’s Chief Medical Officer. “With our Coronavirus Detection Initiative, we aim to work with governments and healthcare providers to slow the spread of COVID-19 and future coronaviruses.”

iFirst is a privately held company, with backing from two Honolulu-based institutional investors, Markowitz Trust and Blue Startups. Funding for the early prototype iFirst Analyzer came from a roughly $1 million grant from the U.S. Army.

To accelerate test development, iFirst is seeking grants from governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private foundations. The company also invites collaboration with like-minded, innovative businesses. Find more info at https://www.ifirstmedtech.com/covid-19

About iFirst

iFirst Medical Technologies, Inc. is a leading developer of handheld diagnostic devices. The company’s critically acclaimed iFirst Analyzer™ employs onboard chemistry, optical analytics, GPS and wireless transmission of patient data to the iFirst Cloud™. iFirst has been recognized by NASA iTech (2017) as one of the Top 10 technologies solving problems on Earth with potential for future space missions. Headquartered in Honolulu, the company is privately held and backed by local institutional investors. Early prototyping was funded by a roughly $1 million grant from the U.S. Army.

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