Operation International has been working with the leadership at both College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, and the Teaching Hospital, Bahir Dar University for several months to establish bases for our teams at two sites in Ethiopia.
The goal is to have a long-term presence there to allow for our teams to provide care to the local patients, particularly with complex cases, train the local staff, and at same time establish and institute patients’ care protocols to help improve outcomes.
The first mission will take place in the Felege Hiwot Hospital located in Bihr Dar. The first team that will be dispatched there will be Team NY, which has several surgeons with wide range of expertise including general surgery, paediatric surgery, maxillofacial surgery, and obstetrics and gynaecology.
The team is expected to perform approximately 100 complex cases. There will be both hands-on training and lectures conducted during the mission, and we expect to train 20 physicians and close to 50 nursing staff.
The team will serve the poor patients who either unable to pay for treatment, and/or those with complicated conditions that exceed the expertise of the local doctors.
The mission will impact many people in different ways. The patients who have been unable to get treatment will get it, which doesn't only impact the patients, but also impact their families and communities. The local doctors and nurses will receive hands-on training which should improve their abilities on providing care to their patients. The donated equipment will help both the doctors in their abilities, and provide the patients with safer outcome. Generally speaking, it is very difficult to quantify the impact a team like ours will have on the communities we serve as simple things such as inspiring younger generation can have a ripple effect that is difficult to quantify.
Team NY of Operation International traveled to Bahir Dar, Ethiopia where hundreds of patients were waiting, some of them traveled over 200 miles to get help. The team were able to treat 101 patients with complex pathology including general surgery, gynecology, maxillofacial, thoracic and head and neck. The team is grateful for Doximity for the endless support before, during, and after the mission.
