Salvation Army Tuggerah Lakes extends a hand to help deliver tech for remote monitoring and reporting of COVID-19 patients

Central Coast, AUSTRALIA, May 12, 2020 – Although they couldn’t pick up or deliver the pre-loved items normally generously donated by the Australian public for sale in their thrift stores, “the Salvos” as they are more affectionately known, lent their hand to Caretaker Medical, the global leader in Remote Wireless Patient Monitoring to ensure safe delivery of 250 devices to NSW Health Pathology in Newcastle.

With COVID-19 effecting business all across the world, the Salvos made the decision to close all Salvos Stores, Family Stores and thrift shops to the public while the COVID‑19 pandemic continues to threaten the health and safety of Australians.

As we know, nothing stops the Salvos from lending a help in hand in a time of need and they did exactly that when Caretaker Medical needed them the most. Led by Pastor Bill Geracia, The Salvation Army Tuggerah Lakes kindly donated the use of their truck and salvo’s member, Dean Holloway kindly donated his time to get this critical equipment from Gosford to Newcastle.

“Supporting the community is in our DNA and we are there to help regardless of the location, circumstances or situation”, said Pastor Bill Geracia. “It’s extremely rewarding to be able to help others and certainly in the time of a crisis like COVID-19 that has effected so many, in so many countries around the world,” said Bill.

Caretaker Medical is the company behind Australia's first 'virtual hospital’ and will be used to monitor COVID-19 patients in their homes, to help reduce the potential spread of the disease to healthcare workers and to reduce the capacity requirement on the Australian healthcare system.

“The Caretaker devices will be used to monitor patients in their homes who have moderate symptoms of the virus, and will continuously track their vital signs, including heart rate, temperature, oxygen saturation, beat-by-beat blood pressure and breathing”, said Mark Winter, Chief Executive Officer at inTechnology Distribution, Caretakers local distributor.

“A team of doctors, supported by artificial intelligence technology provided by The University of New England in partnership with New South Wales Health, will continuously monitor their status, and if their conditions worsen, we will bring them into the hospital for emergency care”, he concluded.

More Virtual hospitals are expected to be rolled out across Australia, as Australia's healthcare system braces for an enormous surge of coronavirus patients, potentially overwhelming hospital capacity. It is clear that there is an urgent need to find safe ways to keep non critically ill patients out of hospital and in the comfort of their own home.

About Caretaker Medical

Caretaker Medical® based in Charlottesville, Virginia, was founded in March 2014 to commercialize wireless patient monitoring devices built around its Patented Pulse Decomposition Analysis technology.

The company has developed the Caretaker wearable wireless vital signs monitoring system that sets a new standard in portability, simplicity, and medical-grade patient monitoring.  Using a small, comfortable finger cuff, Caretaker accurately measures continuous non-invasive beat-by-beat Blood Pressure (“CNIBP”), ECG-Accurate Heart Rate, and Respiration Rate, as well as Blood Volume (for hemorrhage detection), Arterial Stiffness, and other hemodynamic parameters.

Clinical trials have validated that Caretaker measurements are equivalent to other CNIBP patient monitors and heart rate methods. The company anticipates that its innovative approach to vital sign monitoring will be widely accepted in the medical community while disrupting existing patient monitoring solutions.

For more information about Caretaker Medical, and the Caretaker4 wireless Beat-by-Beat remote patient monitor please visit: http://www.caretakermedical.com.au/

About The Salvation Army

The Salvation Army Australia is an international Christian movement, united by faith and giving hope where it’s needed most. Across Australia – in cities, country towns and rural communities – our work touches every demographic and age group.  We’re involved in national issues while also bringing hope to people who may be experiencing hardship or injustice.

Since our foundations in nineteenth century London, we express our faith in charitable work to provide both the spiritual and the social support.  We believe that with one hand we reach out to God and with the other we reach out to the world.

As both a church and charity, we can preach and speak about justice, compassion, and other issues that support the welfare of others and see them as a whole person – body, mind and spirit.