1. Introduction
1.1. My name is Harris Mansur and I am a first year Healthcare Analytics student at Carnegie Mellon University. I have previously worked as a software engineer in Pakistan, on Health Information Management Systems to improve the lives of patients. Before I begin, I would like to thank everyone for taking out the time to listen to this speech
1.2. Hook
1.2.1. We have all seen the power of a virus in the previous year. There have been more than 111 million cases around the world and almost 2.5 million deaths. People have suffered in other ways as well. So many have lost their jobs as businesses got affected and the world practically shut down for a year. Others have faced financial difficulties by paying for the treatment of their loved ones. While I was researching about covid, I found that the average treatment cost for a covid patient who required inpatient care was about $40,000. That is more than the lifetime savings of around 80% of people in Pakistan!
1.3. Connect hook with topic
1.3.1. I believe that given the current situation regarding this pandemic, a covid treatment center/quarantine facility in the city of Lahore with all the necessary equipment would be very helpful. Not only will it decrease the workload on the healthcare system, but it will also help save a lot of lives and a lot of money of the poor people in Pakistan.
1.4. ASK
1.4.1. I request you for a one-time funding of $300,000 and a monthly funding of $10,000 for at least one year.
1.5. Agenda
1.5.1. - Cost structure for the quarantine facility - Why a quarantine facility is an absolute need right now
2. Point 3
2.1. This link shows that obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and other comorbidities are on the high in Pakistan. These generally decrease a person’s immunity to a disease leading to an increased chance of complications in the case of Covid. This situation is worsened by the fact that over 5% of the population is over the age of 65 and the chances of developing serious symptoms increases exponentially as we cross the age of 60.
3. Transitional statement
3.1. As the number of cases increase, the limits of the healthcare system start getting tested. And it would absolutely help to somehow increase the capacity of this healthcare system which is why I want to raise funds for a covid treatment center / quarantine facility. A covid specific center will also help prevent other complications from developing in covid patients because only covid positive patients will be present here. We have also seen that the mortality rates increase when patients have other comorbities along with covid.
4. Questions
4.1. 1
4.1.1. 1. The covid vaccine has been developed, do we still need a quarantine facility? Ans: Even if the covid vaccine has been developed, it would take months, if not years for the entire population to be vaccinated and we still don’t know if the vaccine will be effective against any future mutations of the virus.
4.2. 2
4.2.1. 2. What will happen if the vaccine is effective against the new strains? Ans: The quarantine facility can be used as a hospital and the ventilators can be used in other operations. The building is rented so if there is absolutely no need for it then it can also be let go quickly.
4.3. 3
4.3.1. 3. How long would it take for the facility to be ready? Ans: The facility can be made ready in less than a month. Since the building is rented, any renovations can be made relatively quickly and doctors and nurses can be hired within that month as well.
4.4. 4
4.4.1. 4. The initial cost is a bit high. Can we reduce it? Ans: Yes the initial cost is relatively high, and we can reduce it. But the high cost is particularly to get the facility ready as quickly as possible so that it can start operating. Extending this time period by a few months can help reduce the cost but it might be at the expense of precious human lives.
4.5. 5
4.5.1. 5. Will it not be more suitable to convert hospital departments into quarantine centers? Ans: I can try answering this with a story. Suppose we convert the cancer department into a quarantine facility, what would happen to the cancer patients who were supposed to get treated there? Converting other departments means deciding which patients to save and which to not. By building a separate quarantine facility, we will try saving all lives.