OUTREACH UPDATE - The blog from our September trip to Honduras can be found here. The next trip is scheduled for March 15-22, 2025, to Guanaja, Honduras and currently at capacity. Please send an email to info@p4gh.org if you would like to get on the waiting list. Exact dates for September 2025 will be available soon, pre-registration is open now.
A devastating fire and now desperate medical needs in Roatan
Late in the evening of April 19th, the public hospital in Roatán which served the Bay Islands of Roatán, Guanaja, and Utilla caught fire and burned to the ground. Our medical team had visited that same hospital just the month before. We are thankful that no lives were lost but are heartbroken for the whole community. This was their only public hospital. P4GH has shipped several large containers with the greatly needed medical equipment and supplies we had in storage. These supplies have arrived at the port, and we are waiting for them to clear customs. We ask for your prayers that the supplies will be on their way to where they are needed most. A new hospital has been prioritized by the government but will probably take 1-2 years to complete.
GRENADA UPDATE - INCREDIBLE TIMING
As Hurricane Beryl unleashed its fury across the Southern Caribbean, a 40-foot shipping container packed with P4GH and Roper St. Francis Healthcare medical equipment that was destined for Grenada remained unscathed 120 miles away from the chaos.
The container faced a string of setbacks — a software glitch at the Port of Charleston and an unexpected transfer in Kingston, Jamaica, to the Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago.
Those delays turned out to be blessings.
Dr. Kendra Blanchard, Chris Kendall, Andy Lyons, Jerry Franklin, Ali Swanson and Flow Kembasha.
One week after the Category 4 storm ravaged Grenada’s islands of Carriacou and Petit Martinique where about 11,000 people live, the container and its precious cargo arrived at the moment of utmost need.
A four-member crew from P4GH watched as the container doors swung open. The sight was a beacon of hope — crutches, wheelchairs, walkers, orthopedic boots, beds, scrubs, TV monitors, office furniture, patient chairs and so much more were swiftly loaded onto trucks. The equipment navigated the steep climb to St. George’s General Hospital in the capital, ready to serve a community wrecked from the storm.
The container arrived in Grenada aboard the Contship Gem.
Plans to help Grenada have been in the works since February 2023. That’s when Renee Lyons accidentally fell while on vacation in Grenada, breaking her ankle and fracturing her arm. The kindness and compassion of the people of Grenada and the healthcare system’s clinicians drove Renee and Andy Lyons to join forces with P4GH to bring Grenada equipment they didn’t have. (Read more about their story in "Turning Broken bones into blessings"
The P4GH team cleaned hurricane debris.
P4GH representatives Andy Lyons, Ali Swanson, Jerry Franklin and Chris Kendall, met the container and strategized with Grenada’s top government officials how to best support the country’s healthcare system.
The team also helped clear trash and debris in St. Patrick, the parish on the main island hit hardest by the hurricane. Ali Swanson also joined Dr. Kendra Blanchard, the physician who treated Renee Lyons last year after her fall, as Dr. Blanchard saw patients with orthopedic injuries.
Ali Swanson cares for a patient in the orthopedic ward of St. George’s General Hospital on Monday.
The team met with Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell; Ministry of Health, Wellness & Religious Affairs Philip Telesford; Chief Medical Officer Dr. Shawn Charles; and Director of Medical Services Dr. Tyhiesia Donald. The group discussed Grenada’s biggest needs and the next chapters of the mission work. P4GH with the help of Roper St. Francis Healthcare is providing insight and information on how to promote mental health and wellness among clinicians and hopes to bring Grenadian physicians to the Lowcountry for shadowing and education. Plans are in the works for a total joint replacement team to travel to Grenada to serve patients.
"When Renee broke her ankle, Grenada treated her with compassion, faith and excellence. I struggle to put into words exactly how this country has touched my heart forever", said Andy Lyons.
Editor’s note: It takes a village of volunteers and benefactors to deliver a shipping container to another country. In addition to Roper St. Francis Healthcare donating the largest portion of the equipment, Mike Messner and Jenny K Messner of the Speedwell Foundation funded the shipment. Neal Brothers Charleston Inc. lent expert packing skills, Sons of Consolation Ministries donated two truckloads of orthopedic equipment, and Savannah Logistics Group assisted in carrying cargo for a separate mission to Honduras.
As Hurricane Beryl unleashed its fury across the Southern Caribbean, a 40-foot shipping container packed with P4GH and Roper St. Francis Healthcare medical equipment that was destined for Grenada remained unscathed 120 miles away from the chaos.
The container faced a string of setbacks — a software glitch at the Port of Charleston and an unexpected transfer in Kingston, Jamaica, to the Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago.
Those delays turned out to be blessings.
One week after the Category 4 storm ravaged Grenada’s islands of Carriacou and Petit Martinique where about 11,000 people live, the container and its precious cargo arrived at the moment of utmost need.
A four-member crew from P4GH watched as the container doors swung open. The sight was a beacon of hope — crutches, wheelchairs, walkers, orthopedic boots, beds, scrubs, TV monitors, office furniture, patient chairs and so much more were swiftly loaded onto trucks. The equipment navigated the steep climb to St. George’s General Hospital in the capital, ready to serve a community wrecked from the storm.
The container arrived in Grenada aboard the Contship Gem.
Plans to help Grenada have been in the works since February 2023. That’s when Renee Lyons accidentally fell while on vacation in Grenada, breaking her ankle and fracturing her arm. The kindness and compassion of the people of Grenada and the healthcare system’s clinicians drove Renee and Andy Lyons to join forces with P4GH to bring Grenada equipment they didn’t have. (Read more about their story in "Turning Broken bones into blessings"
The P4GH team cleaned hurricane debris.
P4GH representatives Andy Lyons, Ali Swanson, Jerry Franklin and Chris Kendall, met the container and strategized with Grenada’s top government officials how to best support the country’s healthcare system.
The team also helped clear trash and debris in St. Patrick, the parish on the main island hit hardest by the hurricane. Ali Swanson also joined Dr. Kendra Blanchard, the physician who treated Renee Lyons last year after her fall, as Dr. Blanchard saw patients with orthopedic injuries.
Ali Swanson cares for a patient in the orthopedic ward of St. George’s General Hospital on Monday.
The team met with Grenadian Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell; Ministry of Health, Wellness & Religious Affairs Philip Telesford; Chief Medical Officer Dr. Shawn Charles; and Director of Medical Services Dr. Tyhiesia Donald. The group discussed Grenada’s biggest needs and the next chapters of the mission work. P4GH with the help of Roper St. Francis Healthcare is providing insight and information on how to promote mental health and wellness among clinicians and hopes to bring Grenadian physicians to the Lowcountry for shadowing and education. Plans are in the works for a total joint replacement team to travel to Grenada to serve patients.
"When Renee broke her ankle, Grenada treated her with compassion, faith and excellence. I struggle to put into words exactly how this country has touched my heart forever", said Andy Lyons.
Editor’s note: It takes a village of volunteers and benefactors to deliver a shipping container to another country. In addition to Roper St. Francis Healthcare donating the largest portion of the equipment, Mike Messner and Jenny K Messner of the Speedwell Foundation funded the shipment. Neal Brothers Charleston Inc. lent expert packing skills, Sons of Consolation Ministries donated two truckloads of orthopedic equipment, and Savannah Logistics Group assisted in carrying cargo for a separate mission to Honduras.
If you want to know more about our outreach trips, you can read our daily blog from previous trips here. For Future opportunities use the "Contact Us" button below. Any questions can be emailed to info@p4gh.org.
Medical Equipment and Supply Containers
Charleston Volunteers loading up a container
Our local volunteer team in Charleston, South Carolina, works on storing, organizing and cataloging beds, incubators, wheelchairs, and a multitude of other supplies before transferring it all to 40 ft containers for shipping. We have successfully transported and delivered these shipping containers to Nicaragua, Grenada and Honduras. You can find pictures and read about our first container in 2020 on our about us page. More donations are arriving weekly, and we are always looking for people to help us organize these supplies. Contact us if you are interested in helping us with this effort locally in Charleston.
