ATLANTA — HME providers supply life-sustaining equipment to many diverse patients, but a call last week to Cornerstone Medical was unusual by any standard. Atlanta's "Home Oxygen Specialists" answered an urgent call Wednesday requesting oxygen equipment for a four-week-old baby orangutan at Zoo Atlanta.
"The customer service rep took the call and put them on hold to ask me, 'What do you think of this?'" said Andy Simmons Jr., Cornerstone's vice president of field operations. "It's not your typical call." Turns out the referral came from one of the zoo employees whose mother is a Cornerstone Medical patient.
When Miri, an 18-year-old Bornean orangutan, gave birth at the city's zoo on March 30, the baby was small and not as active and alert as expected. When there had been no improvement after two days, animal management and veterinary teams decided to remove the baby from his mother to hand-rear the infant, which involves constant monitoring and round-the-clock care. About half the normal size for an infant orangutan, the fragile animal is being protected from possible infections and fed through a tube to make sure he gets the nutrition he needs.
A pediatric pulmonologist and cardiologist from nearby Children's Healthcare of Atlanta are consulting in treating the baby orangutan.
"We pulled the equipment together at the branch location and arrived at the zoo at 7 p.m.," said Simmons. "The baby orangutan was quarantined, so we had to scrub up and wear protective coverings." Accompanying Simmons on the unusual delivery were Michael Perkins, operations manager for Cornerstone Medical, and Jeff Hunter, a manager at the provider's Atlanta location.
The room was warm, and there was a reclining chair where a zoo employee or nurse holds the baby orangutan 24 hours a day. A pulse oximeter was attached to its tiny foot, which was "about the size of your pinky," said Simmons.
The baby orangutan had previously been breathing with the help of an oxygen tank. Cornerstone Medical replaced the tank with an oxygen concentrator and other equipment, including a pediatric flow adjustment to enable the oxygen flow to be reduced in line with the small-sized patient, and set at appropriate levels to encourage his lungs to develop.
"It was uncanny how much this orangutan looked like a real baby, especially the way [zoo employees] were caring for it," said Simmons. "It was fussy a little bit. You could tell by the pulse oximeter that the heart rate escalated a little in the excitement of connecting the equipment. But overall it was very calm, very subdued. They picked it up and let me look at his face. It's a cute little fella."
"We spent about three hours there training [the zoo team] on how to switch over the various modalities of the oxygen," said Simmons. "We stayed to make sure the equipment was meeting the purpose and all the staff was comfortable with the equipment." Simmons isn't sure how long the tiny animal will need the oxygen therapy, but Cornerstone Medical has committed to donate its services and use of the equipment as long as necessary.
Krissy Toth, local sales rep for Buffalo, N.Y.-based AirSep Corp., said the manufacturer would donate a 10-liter NewLife Intensity oxygen concentrator to Zoo Atlanta. Once delivered, it will be used to supply the baby orangutan's immediate oxygen needs and then kept by the zoo for any similar needs in the future.
Bornean orangutans are endangered because of over- harvesting of timber and human encroachment in their native habitat, according to officials at Zoo Atlanta. Experts predict the species could be extinct in 10 years without targeted conservation efforts.
Zoo Atlanta staff said once the new baby grows strong enough, he would be re-introduced to his orangutan family.
"We were glad to be a part of it," said Simmons.
