Ghana Medical Mission Serves 700 Patients for FREE
The 2007 World Missions Possible Ghana team was able to provide FREE medical care, medication and services to around 700 patients! Which means, of course, that the team sweated, worked until dark (no electric), and were mobbed by crowds of people at every clinic.
Some of cases were heart-wrenching... like a young 20-year-old man suffering with an infected jawbone, an older man in Ngani with a huge tumor on his throat, a lady with a several-pound hernia, a lady with (probable) breast cancer, and one man whose leg was literally rotting off of his body due to a lack of medical care. In many of these very complex medical cases (neededing surgical intervention or long-term care), WMP paid for the patient^s enrollment in the national health care insurance coverage (about $30 for one year), or asked/paid for medical/surgical intervention on the patient's behalf.
We served in three primary clinic areas—one in the condemned "Witch's Village" of Ngani (outside of northern city of Yendi), one in Lawra (at Methodist AIDS and Nutrition Centre, at border of Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast), and one in the south - Ekotsi-Bogyano. In addition to the clinics, we donated a brand new EKG, vascular doppler, an automatic external defibrillator (AED), and CPR mannequins.
At Wenchi Hospital, Dr. Flowers of WMP and Dr. Didier Amehi of Togo taught the staff and doctors EKG interpretation and some advanced cardiac life support --- we donated the EKG, AED and CPR mannequins after teaching the "new" Red Cross CPR/Basic Life Support techniques. It was all extremely well received and we also donated a lot of medication - about a dozen cases.
We really feel like we're finally making a sustainable development footprint in Ghana now—we're supporting long-term medical teaching and support at Wenchi Hospital, and are getting the support of government officials, local chiefs and the people, most of whom came to our clinics to be seen! How wonderful that they are entrusting us with their care.
We had several "return" patients from last year... and we got to see the (now cured!) leper, Patrick, and the nine-year-old Zebedee, who was is now walking and running after his successful operation for a terrible six-year hip bone infection.
The 2008 team (scheduled October of 2008) is need of medical personnel, supplies and medication. If you hold current U.S. medical licensing or are a retired physician, please review our "Join Us!" page and consider joining the team and/or sending supplies or a donation for our planned 2008 OCTOBER team.
For a complete listing of needed supplies, please click here: Ghana.WMP.MEDICAL_NEEDS.doc.
If you have any questions, please contact Roxane Richter, Vice President, at roxanerichter@yahoo.com.
