Posted by Meghan Ray
Monday we visited our friends at the Karatu Lutheran Hospital. Dr. Awai, a physician at the hospital, extended a warm greeting to us in the Chapel. Our group met with hospital staff (John Kulle, Dawson Daati, Dr. Kimaro) for about an hour to talk about the current status of the hospital and some of the health programs. Unfortunately, they have had very little rain in Karatu in 6 months and there is a water shortage. However, the Village Wellness Program provided a water collecting vessel from which the hospital can draw water in situations like this. The diseases that they see at the hospital for inpatients (in order of volume) are malaria, TB, diarrheal diseases, skin/eye infections, diabetes and hypertension and trauma. They treat outpatients for blood plasma, bladder infections, skin infections, STDs and some psych cases. They also do testing and counseling for HIV/AIDS twice a week in the clinic there. It is separate from the main hospital to protect the privacy of the patients. The hospital faces many challenges. Drugs are often out of stock because only 60% of what they need is available from the government and the pharmacy is subsidized by the government. Moreover, they do not enough money to conduct needed repairs and they face some of the same difficulties we do in the US – nursing shortages!
We have brought some supplies from St. Joseph to donate to the hospital (sutures, blood drawing kits, sterile gloves, face shields, cast shoes and more). Supplies that are slightly past expiration date and would go to waste in the US are accepted gladly here.
We took a tour of the facility. Patients who come to the hospital are usually accompanied by family members because the hospital cannot provide food service. The families cook in an outbuilding and help care for their loved ones. They do not have an ambulance at KLH so patients have to take a taxi (very cost prohibitive) or walk. Some of the villages are very far away. It’s hard to imagine walking such long distance when someone is so ill.
KLH is situated in a beautiful area in stark contrast to the suffering, disease and illness inside. I think that we were all amazed at the deep commitment, sincerity and hard work of the staff who work tirelessly to take care of their patients in extremely difficult situations.
We presented mosquito nets to the entire KLH community for the patient beds and the staff quarters. Hopefully this will keep the caregivers and the patients they serve free from deadly malaria. It is also important for villagers to see the same nets that they received in use at the hospital because it reinforces the importance of using the bed nets to protect themselves in their own homes. During the mosquito net preparations, KLH was also the storage facility to protect the nets for the rest of the community until distribution at all villages is complete.
Tuesday afternoon we headed in the opposite direction about 20 minutes through Karatu town to visit Rhotia Catholic Health Center. Sr. Verona Hutter and her colleage, Sr. Blasia, run a wonderful clinic. True to her Swiss upbringing, Sr. Verona runs a tight ship! The health center is clean and bright and welcoming for patients. The Village Wellness Program provided funds last year to assist in a water project that would create a pipeline for Rhotia and to the surrounding villages. Unfortunately this project has been delayed several times. They are ready to go with all of the equipment, now they just need power! As demonstrated by the rolling blackouts later that evening, it seems that the electric company is having trouble. Also, it just seems to take a long time to get things done in Karatu. In contrast, Sr. Verona just started construction on another building in JULY and it will open in two weeks! She and Sr. Blasia are amazing.
We interviewed Sr. Verona on camera so hopefully some of you will be able to see for yourself her warmth, sense of humor and sincere commitment to her ministry for the people of Karatu. We are proud to support the work of the sisters at Rhotia.
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