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Faculty of Health Sciences welcomes donations of PPEs

02 September 2020 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Charl Devenish

Faculty of Health Sciences donation of PPEs — A group of medical students pose with their new masks, a donation by an alumnus of the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) welcomed the generous donation of 1 000 surgical masks by one of its alumni to aid medical students in this faculty with their clinical training.

The Professional Provident Society (PPS), a financial services company focused solely on providing intelligent financial solutions for graduate professionals, also donated personal protective equipment (PPE) to the Faculty of Health Sciences.

The first donation was made by Dr Riaan Flooks, a Specialist Physician at Mediclinic Bloemfontein. Dr Flooks received the masks from a friend and decided to donate some of the masks to the UFS.

Thankful for donations

Prof Gert van Zyl, Dean: Faculty of Health Sciences, says they are thankful for the donations.

“All donations help, big or small, and it will help our students to do their tasks and to help where necessary,” Prof Van Zyl said about the second donation by PPS.

Prof Nathaniel Mofolo, Head: School of Clinical Medicine, expressed his gratitude to Dr Flooks and called him a patron of the university and the faculty.

“On behalf of the School of Clinical Medicine, I hereby wish to express our heartfelt gratitude for your generous contribution and support. This comes at the most needed time and will go a long way in assisting us,” said Prof Mofolo.

Dr Lynette van der Merwe, undergraduate medical programme director in the School of Clinical Medicine at the University of the Free State (UFS), added that the donation of essential PPE to students for use during training in the clinical areas was much appreciated.

“The support for the academic programme in a practical, tangible way is highly valuable, as it will assist in protecting students while they are in clinical training.”

Doing their bit

According to PPS, one of the positives of the COVID-19 pandemic is the contributions of so many to deal with the crisis – from individuals to big corporates – who want little or nothing in return.

“We all need to do our bit, and the PPS board has recently decided to contribute R25 million to fight the pandemic in South Africa. In deciding where this would make the biggest impact, our unique positioning among professionals and our relationship with professional associations were considered.”

“We are also very conscious that health professionals, in particular, are the front-line soldiers in this war, and need to be protected. It was therefore decided that a major portion of the money will be used to purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) for the safety of medical professionals in both the public and private sectors,” according to PPS.

News Archive

UFS hosts sign language workshop to educate parents

2017-05-22

Back row; from left; John Keitsemore from
Bartimea School for the Deaf; Philip Cook,
the headmaster at De la Bat School for the
Deaf in Worcester; Jeannie Cook, De la Bat School
for the Deaf; front, from left; Marisa Vermeulen, mother
of two deaf children and teacher at Bartimea
School for the Deaf in Thaba Nchu; Marianne Kühn,
audiologist, and Susan Lombaard, acting Head of the
Department of South African Sign Language.
Photo: Rulanzen Martin

“Ninety percent of deaf children are born into hearing families. When parents first receive the news, they are shocked, angry and confused,” says Susan Lombaard, Acting head of the Department of South African Sign Language at the University of the Free State (UFS).

The department hosted a workshop, “Early intervention options for the child with a hearing loss”, on Friday 12 May 2017 on the Bloemfontein Campus. “It is the first time a sign language workshop of this kind was hosted by the Department of South African Sign Language at the UFS,” says Lombaard, who facilitated the workshop. They hope to make it an annual event.

Parents of deaf children do not always know how they will communicate with their children or where the child must attend school. The workshop aimed to provide parents with the necessary information on different communication options and also touched on school placement.

Support group for parents established
A support group for parents was also established, the first of its kind in the province. It will provide much-needed support, information and guidance for parents of deaf children.

Some of the speakers at the workshop included Anri Esterhuizen, an audiologist; Marianne Kühn from the Carel du Toit Centre, Marisa Vermeulen, who is a mother of two deaf children, and Phillip Cook, the headmaster at De la Bat School for the Deaf in Worcester, in the Western Cape. Jeannie Cook, also a presenter, provided information on sign language acquisition of the small deaf child, which is done through creative play.

Professionals have responsibility
South African Sign Language is a language in its own right and is not international. “Sign language is a visual language with its own grammar and syntax different from spoken language,” Lombaard said.

There has been much controversy surrounding teaching deaf children to speak and teaching them to sign. “We as professionals have the responsibility to provide information on all options. This is to help the parent make informed decisions about communication and school placement.”

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