50 ventilators purchased in Russia in mid-March, at the beginning of the COVID-19 virus epidemic in the Republic of Srpska with the funds collected in the Ventilator for Srpska charity campaign which was launched by the companies TRB and Elvako Metpro, owned by Slaven Ristić, have arrived in Bijeljina.
Ventilators AVENTA-M (50 pieces) were bought from the company JSC UIEP Russia for 2,305,080 KM (95,000,000.00 RUB) or 46,101.60 KM per piece.
All customs procedures have been completed and the ventilators will be delivered to public health institutions in the coming days – 10 ventilators to the University Clinical Centre of the Republic of Srpska, hospitals in Bijeljina and Doboj (7 each), hospitals in East Sarajevo and Trebinje (6 each), hospitals in Zvornik and Gradiška (4 each), hospital in Prijedor (3), the hospital in Foča (2) and the hospital in Nevesinje (one ventilator).
Representatives of the Russian state corporation, Rostek, under which the companies that supplied the ventilators operate, will hold a video conference with specialists and medical staff of the mentioned public health institutions in the Republic of Srpska, who will educate on how to use these medical devices.
The companies TRB and Elvako Metpro, and their owner Slaven Ristić, have expressed their gratitude to all businesses from the Bijeljina region, but also from other parts of Srpska, who donated to the Ventilator for Srpska campaign and thus showed how much the business community can help the health care sector and the population in crises.
We would also like to thank the numerous individuals who made personal donations, as well as all other participants in all segments of this charity campaign.
Once the safe epidemiological conditions have been met, TRB and Elvako Metpro will hold a dinner party to thank everybody who supported the campaign and in that way show their respect and gratitude to every business person who participated in the campaign.
We would also like to express our special gratitude to the Embassy of Russia in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Embassy of Serbia in Russia, which gave their full assistance in the procurement of ventilators, as well as to the authorities of the RS and BiH who helped with the finalization of this campaign. Furthermore, we would like to express our gratitude to the media outlets which made a significant contribution to the campaign by broadcasting the number of the Red Cross’ bank account to which donations were made.
As of May 4, a total of 2,649,876.01 KM was paid into the account of the Red Cross in Bijeljina, with whose help and support the Ventilator for Srpska campaign was realized.
In addition to ventilators, in March and April, some of the collected funds have been used to purchase and deliver medical equipment for the Sv. Vrači Hospital in Bijeljina, namely: a portable ventilator (TRILOGY 202 PHILIPS, worth 26,652.60 KM), five monitors Vitavue 10 (total value 75,582.00 KM), five monitors Draeger VISTA 120 (total value 49,140 KM), and microbiological safety cabinets (Safe Fast Top 212-D, worth 23,376.60 KM).
The Health Centre in Bijeljina was given 200 hazmat suits (worth 5,916.41 KM), a defibrillator (CARDIO AID 260B, worth 16,777.80 KM), as well as 17 additional hazmat suits, 17 medical visors and 17 goggles (total value 507.39 KM).
All the mentioned medical devices, apparatus and equipment were procured exclusively based on the expressed needs of the Bijeljina Health Centre and Hospital, and the ventilators were distributed based on the needs of hospitals throughout the Republic of Srpska, but also on the basis of the expressed wishes of the campaign participants.