Pakistan Is Not Haiti

August 31st, 2010 Posted in INMED | No Comments »

Pakistan Flood ZoneThe heartening North American response to Haiti’s earthquake has tragically not been replicated in the case of Pakistan. With twenty percent of the nation underwater, some 1100 people known dead, and four million now homeless, this catastrophe ranks among the worse in modern times. Yet extreme distance and unfamiliarity cause most in our midst to take the news lightly. But oh the power of a personal relationship! One of INMED’s heroes, Scott Armistead, was on the scene in 2006 when Pakistan was struck by an 7.6 magnitude earthquake that killed 83,000, and four years later Scott and his wife Joanne are still living in Pakistan and providing lifesaving care! Get a glimpse of them at working by checking out Bach Christian Hospital.

Demand For Global Health Training?

August 11th, 2010 Posted in INMED | No Comments »

Dr. Lin CalvertINMED is continually approached by universities that are scrambling to provide global health training and service opportunities. What is driving this demand? YOU CHOOSE: A = Student interest, B = The Gates Foundation, C = Inspiring role model, D = University professors ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Indeed, the wave of demand for curriculum in global health is largely a student driven phenomena (A); a result of youth who are electronically in tune with the larger world, who are more aware of the felt needs of people living in distress, and who are dissatisfied with personal faith that is disconnected from personal action on behalf of those most poor.

Colleagues Murdered in Afghanistan

August 9th, 2010 Posted in INMED | No Comments »

taliban.jpgI am aghast tonight over the tragic news of a British physician, Karen Woo, and ten other aid workers killed this week by gunmen in an ambush in a remote area of northern Afghanistan. The team was on site working at an eye clinic they had earlier established. In fact, in 2003 their organization provided care to 234,570 outpatients and performed 14,618 eye operations - most of them to restore site to those blinded by cataracts. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid told reporters militants killed the foreigners because they were ’spying for the Americans’ and ‘preaching Christianity’.

What’s The Good News From Bangladesh?

August 8th, 2010 Posted in INMED | No Comments »

flood_refugees2.jpgIn Bangladesh forty years ago one infant in five died during the first year. Today, only one infant in twenty dies. WHAT’S the reason for this progress? You choose: A = Childhood vaccinations. B = General economic development. C = National health insurance. D = Malaria prevention. In his provocative book The End Of Poverty, Columbia University professor Jeffrey D. Sachs brilliantly illustrates how economic growth in the poorest nations - those where people live on less than one dollar per day - has brought with it unprecedented progress in physical health. The correct answer to our question is B. In Bangladesh, per capita income has doubled since 1971, while life expectancy has increased from forty-four to sixty-two and infant mortality has fallen from fourteen percent to five percent. How does economic growth foster physical health? Through improvements in housing, nutrition, vector control, water and sanitation, general education, industrial safety, medical care, and incentives to reduce fertility.

From Rescue To Self-Sufficiency - Ghana Day 13

July 24th, 2010 Posted in 2010 Ghana | No Comments »

Ultrasound at Baptist Medical CenterLast night a lady arrived at Ghana’s Baptist Medical Center in labor with twins. Our ultrasound quickly confirmed their heart rates were low, and a Caesarian was needed at once. A familiar scenario out here - and for the last 60 years it was the American doctor who performed these surgeries. But times are changing for the better. Instead of doing the surgery myself, I called Hakeem Ofosu. He and Mwinyogle Aubrey are the two Ghanaians who just graduated from medical school and are with us for two months. I guided Hakeem through is first Caesarian. Just in time, too, for I’m about to leave (’rescue’) and Hakeem and Mwinyogle will stay on as the only doctors (’self-sufficiency’).

Commitment & Consistency: Doug Parking - Ghana Day 11

July 21st, 2010 Posted in 2010 Ghana | No Comments »

Doug ParkinOne of the most disturbing elements of today’s ’short-term medical missions’ phenomena is how individuals boast over the number of different countries where they have served. In truth, the learning curve is steep for each new healthcare facility. Commitment and consistency are necessary for one to learn the ropes and actually make a significant contribution. Consider Doug Parkin. Now 68, Doug has made Ghana’s Baptist Medical Center his ‘home away from home.’ He’s served here 10 times over the last 12 years, making permanent friends among the staff, learning elements of the local language, and developing illness management protocols that are used by dozens of other physicians on site. Yours’ is an exemplary life, Doug!

A ‘Normal’ Doctor’s Schedule - Ghana Day 9

July 21st, 2010 Posted in 2010 Ghana | No Comments »

Pediatrics admissions GhanaJust a typical day at Ghana’s Baptist Medical Center: This morning I arrived find to 27 new patients admitted to the pediatrics ward by the nurses overnight! That’s 27 kids with malaria, sepsis, pneumonia, dehydration, all on top of chronic malnutrition. Next up, I rounded on 55 adults with snake bite, malaria, tuberculosis, bone infections, nasty open fractures, and liver failure. At mid day the head nurse scurried up from Labor & Delivery, compelling me to perform a Caesarian section for a lady with fetal distress. Meanwhile the nurse practitioners had been saving up ’special cases’ all day, and presented me with 40 outpatient consults. Some of the language barriers are so dense we need three different translators to arrive at English - the national language of Ghana. But 6 pm, we’re just in time to start evening rounds!

Culturally-Appropriate Orphan Care - Ghana Day 7

July 19th, 2010 Posted in 2010 Ghana | No Comments »

Ghana OrphansPictured here with the children of Nilerigu, Ghana’s first orphanage. Attitudes toward orphans and care provided are quite culturally-dependent. In more traditional African communities to concept of an “orphan” was almost unheard of. All children have relatives, and if their parents died, they are naturally absorbed into the home of their kin. Only in industrialized nations has the concept of “orphanage” been developed; a partial indictment to our inability to care for parentless children within our extended families. The AIDS crisis in many developing nations, however, has strained some extended families to the point that the concept of orphanage is making an unfortunate debut.

The Tough Questions - Ghana Day 5

July 18th, 2010 Posted in 2010 Ghana | No Comments »

BMC Pediatrics WardWalked into the pediatrics ward at Ghana’s Baptist Medical Center this morning, where I almost collapsed from the gravity of suffering and stench of human waste. I’m contemplating the questions that plague us all who engage healthcare among the extreme poor: How to best adopt care for low resource setting? How to function in an unfamiliar culture and language? How to protect time amid health crises to address prevention? How to personally function in a totally foreign culture? And for me most compellingly, how to move a community from outside-reliant to self-reliant?

Snakes In The Grass! - Ghana Day 3

July 17th, 2010 Posted in 2010 Ghana | 1 Comment »

Snake Carpet ViperMaking rounds at Baptist Medical Center in Ghana - up near the northern border with Burkina Faso. Stunningly, a quarter of our hospital patients are here for snake bit! Now is the rainy season, when farmers are scrambling out to their fields to plant corn and millet. And awaiting in the foliage is this carpet viper. The nasty creature’s bite causes anticoagulation and hemorrhage. Those we attend to receive the old fashion “whole blood clotting time” in which a test tube is simply shaken for 20 minutes. If the blood clots (normal) patients are monitored. It is does not clot (abnormal) we treat them with antivenin. And in every case, I’m very careful where I walk!

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