Ventilators, monitors and protective gear for Tamil Nadu's COVID-19 wards outside Chennai

✅ Project Value: $90,000 — Reached

By May 2020, Tamil Nadu's COVID-19 case count had passed 18,000 and was climbing by more than 800 cases a day. Chennai, the state capital, was receiving the bulk of the equipment and protective supplies flowing in from government and aid agencies. The smaller cities and towns spread across the rest of the state were not so fortunate — and it was patients there, treated in under-resourced government hospitals, who stood to lose the most.

Listening to the people on the ward

The Rotary Club of Madras Coromandel (District 3232) began the project by talking directly to health workers about what they actually needed, rather than assuming from a distance. The Rotary Club of Trichy Chola helped identify the most urgent gaps in smaller towns and connect the project with hospitals in need, while the Rotary Club of Madras Industrial City helped establish those hospital relationships. Global Grant GG1991159, sponsored internationally by the Rotary Club of Binghamton (District 7170), was built around what that ground-level conversation surfaced.

What the grant delivered

Backed by US$90,000 in funding, the project supplied government hospitals across Tamil Nadu with:

• A multi-parameter patient monitor with etCO2 capability
• A Dräger Evita Dura ventilator
• A high-pressure horizontal sterilizer
• Ultrasound equipment
• Air purifiers
• Semi-automatic chemistry analysers
• UV cabinets
• Personal protective equipment (PPE) kits for frontline staff

Vendors were selected through competitive quotation, and suppliers of the major equipment items provided free training to hospital staff alongside the handover.

Care that stays with the community

Every item purchased under this grant was handed over to the government hospitals that would use it — not retained by any Rotary club or district. Hospital staff, already trained on similar equipment, took on operation and maintenance directly, with replacement parts sourced locally.

A partnership across two continents

The Rotary Club of Madras Coromandel served as host sponsor, identifying hospitals, procuring equipment and overseeing distribution on the ground. The Rotary Club of Binghamton, as international sponsor, helped raise funds and shared the project's progress with Rotarians abroad. District Designated Funds from Districts 3232, 4420, 7170 and 9685 rounded out the funding, alongside cash contributions from clubs including Warrnambool, Chennai Serenity, Chennai Infinity and The Hills-Kellyville.