Tiny Hearts, Big Needs: Saving Newborns in Playa del Carmen

Help the Seaside Rotary Club Meet An Urgent Need

Every day, 20 babies are born in the Playa del Carmen General Hospital. Many arrive fighting for their lives. Some are born prematurely, underweight, or with undiagnosed heart conditions.

The women who count on the services of this hospital are from the most at-risk areas in our community. They have no access to prenatal check ups. They have no prenatal vitamins or instruction on how to eat properly to help give their baby the best chance for a healthy life.

The children born in this hospital have the deck stacked against them.

The doctors and nurses do the very best with what they have but their efforts often fall short due to lack of basic equipment we take for granted in our modern neonatal units.

Working without the critical tools needed to track a baby’s heart rate and oxygen levels, our caring health professionals are often forced to make life-or-death decisions without real-time data.

The consequences? Delays in diagnosis, missed warning signs, inaccurately administered medication and tragic losses that could have been prevented.

But we can change this. Together, we can provide the hospital with the lifesaving equipment needed to monitor and protect its most vulnerable patients: newborns.

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The Challenge

Our goal is to raise $12,000 USD to purchase:

✅ (2) Rad-97 Pulse Co-Oximeters – Essential for tracking oxygen levels in premature and at-risk babies and diagnosing heart abnormalities.

✅ (4) Benefusion EVP Infusion Pumps – Ensures precise medication and fluid delivery for critically ill newborns.

How YOU Can Help

Donate – Every contribution makes a difference!

$50+ – Send just $50 USD and we will recognize you across our social media channels.

$500+ – Donate $1000 USD and see you name featured on the hospital's donor plaque

$5000+ – Send $5000 USD and a heart monitor will be named after you or in memory of a loved one.

Share – Spreading the word is just as important as donating. Please share this campaign with your friends, family, and community!

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Why These Devices Are Essential for the Neonatal Unit

Rad-97 Pulse Co-Oximeter – Critical for Tracking Oxygen Levels in Premature and At-Risk Babies

Premature newborns and those with congenital conditions are often born with underdeveloped lungs or circulation issues, making oxygen monitoring essential for survival.

What it does:

● The Rad-97 Pulse Co-Oximeter continuously monitors oxygen saturation (SpO₂), pulse rate, and perfusion index in real time, allowing doctors and nurses to detect oxygen deprivation before it leads to complications like brain damage, organ failure, or death.

● Unlike basic pulse oximeters, this advanced model uses Masimo SET® technology, which provides accurate readings even when a baby is moving or has poor circulation—a common issue in premature infants.

● It also measures hemoglobin and methemoglobin levels, crucial for detecting life-threatening conditions like neonatal anemia and oxygen transport issues.

Why it’s needed:

● Many newborns in Playa del Carmen General Hospital are born with low birth weight, breathing difficulties, or congenital heart conditions. Without proper monitoring, doctors must rely on visual assessments, which are unreliable and delay critical interventions.

● Early detection of oxygen fluctuations can prevent conditions like hypoxia (oxygen deprivation), acidosis, and respiratory failure, reducing the risk of long-term disabilities or infant mortality.

● Currently, the hospital has no neonatal pulse oximeters—meaning nurses must manually check for signs of distress, often too late to prevent complications.

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Benefusion EVP Infusion Pumps – Ensuring Precise Medication and Fluid Delivery for Critically Ill Newborns

Newborns, especially premature and critically ill infants, often require continuous, carefully dosed medication, IV fluids, or nutrients to survive. Their tiny bodies cannot handle even slight miscalculations in medication dosage.

What it does:

● The Benefusion EVP Infusion Pump is an advanced, programmable device that delivers precise amounts of fluids, nutrients, and medications at a controlled rate—critical for fragile newborns.

● It prevents human error by ensuring that even the smallest doses of medication (e.g., antibiotics, pain relief, electrolytes, or IV nutrition) are administered slowly and accurately, reducing risks of overdose or underdose.

● It also enables continuous infusion, essential for babies who require round-the-clock medications like dopamine (for heart support), insulin (for metabolic disorders), or total parenteral nutrition (TPN) for feeding premature infants unable to nurse or bottle-feed.

Why it’s needed:

● Manually administering IV medications is risky—without an infusion pump, doctors and nurses must carefully time and adjust drip rates, increasing the chances of human error.

● Premature infants have immature kidneys and livers, meaning even a tiny excess of fluids or medication can lead to toxic buildup, seizures, or organ damage.

● Currently, the hospital has an extreme shortage of infusion pumps, forcing staff to share between multiple newborns or rely on manual drips, which lack the precision these fragile patients need.

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Why These Two Devices Are Critical Together

While both devices serve different functions, they work hand in hand to ensure that premature and critically ill newborns receive the best possible care.

✅ The Rad-97 Pulse Co-Oximeter ensures immediate detection of oxygen and heart rate abnormalities.

✅ The Benefusion EVP Infusion Pump ensures precise delivery of lifesaving fluids and medications.

Together, these devices will help save hundreds of newborn lives every year at Playa del Carmen General Hospital.

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Your Donation Saves Lives

Playa del Carmen General Hospital is the only public hospital in the area, serving families who cannot afford private medical care. Many women arrive after difficult pregnancies—often malnourished and without prenatal checkups.

Right now, the Playa del Carmen General Hospital has no neonatal heart monitors and no infusion pumps for infants. Doctors do their best, but they need proper tools to save lives.

Imagine this: A child is delivered struggling to breathe. Her doctors suspect a heart issue, but they don’t have a monitor to confirm it. They try their best, but without real-time data, they must act blindly.

A delay of even a few minutes could mean the difference between life and death.

With your help, we can ensure that no family faces this uncertainty.

➡️ Every dollar counts! Just $50 USD helps bring us closer to placing a monitor at a baby’s bedside.

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Transparency & Trust

The Rotary Club of Playa del Carmen Seaside has no administrative costs. Every dollar raised goes directly toward purchasing and delivering these monitors to Playa del Carmen General Hospital.

Implementation: We are working directly with hospital staff to ensure smooth delivery, installation and training.

Progress: We will share updates, photos, and videos throughout the campaign and after the equipment is installed.

Deadline: To ensure babies get the help they need ASAP, we aim to meet our goal within 60 days.

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Join Us in Saving Tiny Lives

These newborns can’t ask for help—but we can.

With your support, we can give doctors the tools they need to monitor, diagnose, and save the tiniest hearts in Playa del Carmen.

Donate today and be a part of something truly life-changing.