Last March, I had the opportunity to co-produce a documentary by Jason Gurvitz and the Seattle Anesthesia Outreach Organization that documents the tragic conditions of Ethiopia’s largest hospital, and their efforts to modernize it.
After decades of poverty and overwhelming state bureaucracy, the hospital has continuously descended into total disrepair. Beyond the underwhelming training, hospital staff is so apathetic that patients regularly receive care that would be considered neglect anywhere else. Queries by visiting nurses on behalf of the patient are met with shrugs, hospital staff casually stroll to frantic doctors calling for help. Files are stacked to the ceiling in rooms that are filled with trash and with equipment that is better utilized as drink holders.
What’s needed, from the perspective of Anesthesia Outreach, is an infusion of equipment, knowledge and new talent.
From the Seattle Times:
And perhaps more importantly, they’ll train Black Lion Hospital staffers how to use and maintain the equipment themselves.
“We want to do something sustainable,” Cullen said, “something that would make a difference when we are there and not there.”
More than $500,000 worth of equipment and supplies for the mission has been donated by Swedish Medical Center and its suppliers, including eight anesthesia machines, 17 patient monitors and six electrical-surgical units.
Swedish CEO Rod Hochman helped SAO secure hospital equipment that’s not being used, or was due for replacement but is still serviceable. “They’re a phenomenal group,” he said. “This was a great way to expand our reach and do the right thing.”
Through its own $60,000 fundraising campaign, SAO purchased other equipment, including five new Army-surplus operating tables, eight gurneys and 20 field-hospital beds.
The logistics of getting more than 7 tons of equipment and supplies from Seattle to Addis Ababa are daunting.
The answer: cargo space on two brand new Boeing 777s, courtesy of Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines.
That’s just some of the equipment and a tiny sampling of the massive effort to help those in Ethiopia help themselves. I hope that things continue to get better there and I’m very happy to have played my small part for these talented and dedicated professionals.