Trip Wrap Up

Apologies for the infrequent blog updates while in Uganda...the dial-up internet was prohibitive to say the least.

Overall, I had an amazing time in Mbarara. We forged lasting friendships with some of the nurses and midwives, exchanged information about differences in practice here and there, and learned how to manage labor and delivery patients in a completely different environment. Both Kari and I are thankful for the opportunities to travel, expand our skill set/knowledge and meet interesting people along the way. In addition to all that we took away from the experience, I really hope that we in turn, contributed to the goal of improving care for the women of Mbarara.

I finally posted my pics from the trip: http://picasaweb.google.com/lisamillertime

Thanks again for everyone's support of this trip and larger cause!

I'll continue to update with future Medicine for Humanity/UCLA/Mbarara combined projects involving the UCLA nurses.

best!

Lisa

Deliveries, Dinner and Dancing

Last night Cook Medical (a biotech company that has developed a plug that is being used here, in Mbarara, for the first time to repair fistulas) invited the entire OB/GYN department of Mbarara University Hospital and the visiting UCLA team, out for a night of dinner and dancing to celebrate the success of the fistula camp. Kari and I sat at a table with a lively group of nurses (sisters) and had a great time socializing in a non-work environment. I always feel like you get to see an entirely different side of people when the uniform comes off (and the beer and wine comes out). At the end of dinner, someone turned the music up, and the entire staff hit the dance floor...we even had a congo line going at one point!

On a more professional note, Kari and I have been splitting our time between learning to deliver babies with the Ugandan midwives and working on a project to improve neonatal resuscitation outcomes. We started by holding an inservice in NRP with the nurses (complete with samosas and chipatti as bribary for attending...just like American product reps who scour the UCLA halls with bags of candy to lure us into listening to insturctions on how to use a new $15 product that holds a foley bag to a patient's leg...seems completley ridiculous now, that we would spend money on a fancy gaget when tape has never failed to work...I'm sure the nurses here would be more than happy to have an endless supply of tape, or as they call it, "strapping"). After talking with the nurses about their concerns and wishes to improve the resuscitations, we learned that the primary barrier to succes (that they could identify) is a lack of available support/help during a resuscitation. Since there seem to be at least 4 0r 5 medical students in the delivery ward at most times, we decided to try and train the medical students in NRP as well. After a weekend off (tracking gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forrest...amazing! the subject for an entire post of its own), we taught a two hour NRP class for the medical students, complete with mock code scenarios. Today we are back on the delivery ward, learning delivery skills from those same nurses and medical students.

More later from Mbarara!

Lisa

Mbarara

After an eventful 6 hours on the bus (after it broke down three times the engine was jerry-rigged with a rope--yes, a rope, only.) we made it from Entebbe to Mbarara. We arrived here on Sunday afternoon, in time to get situated and make the best guacamole I've ever eaten (seriously, the avocados here are amazingly good). Monday morning we dragged our three 50 lbs bags across the street to the hospital to give out supplies. We met with Hope, the head nurse on the Labor and delivery/Maternity ward, so that she could help us determine where the supplies would be most useful/where to store everything.

So far, we have been especially excited to have the dopplers working (we brought 2 new ones that were purchased with donated money, and were also able to fix the doppler that Kelly Jensen (now Watson!) brought last time---apparently the battery had died and that is why it wasn't being used. Luckly we had packed a bag full of replacement batteries). We've also been able to use the reusable ambu bag to recusitate 2 babies thus far.

The other supplies have been greatly appreciated (especially the gloves and hand sanitizer) by the nurses, doctors, and medical students. At the same time, Kari and I have been learning to do things the Ugandan way: starting IVs with gloves for turniquets, cutting umbilical cords with razor blades, deep suctioning with a bulb syringe, baging with room air when there is no oxygen, working through power outages (being laughed at while using a headlamp to start an IV in the dark).

We have been dividing our time between helping out/learning on the delivery ward and working on improvement projects (we're currently trying to work with one of the anesthesiologists to set up a recusitation table in the delivery ward). Yesterday we got the chance to teach a class at the nursing school too...so we've sort of been all over the place, but we've been learing a lot and meeting super friendly nurses and doctors with great stories all along the way.

I'll leave you with one of the two words I've learned in Runyankole:

Agandi

(it actually means "how are you", but I have no idea how to say goodbye, or until next time, or peace out, so Agandi will have to do. In case you were wondering the other word I know is Sindica, which means "push" (it might be the most helpful word in our field)

Entebbe

We have arrived in Entebbe!! So excited to be back with my Ugandan friends at the Marphies Hotel. All of our supplies made it here...after a day of relaxation, we will head with the supplies to Mbarara. More later....

Lisa

Packing

We are leaving LAX bright and early tomorrow (woohoooo!)...so our job now is to organize and pack all of these wonderful supplies.

Thanks again to everyone who donated!

I will be posting updates from Mbarara, so check back!

Lisa

Supplies are here!

The women of the world need our help

Check out this article that clearly illustrates the global disparity of women's reproductive healthcare:

"Crisis in the Operating Room"

Countdown begins!

We will be leaving LA in 5 days and I am SO excited to return to Uganda!

First of all, a thousand thank yous to everyone that has donated money to support our mission to bring high quality, sustainable, and very much needed supplies to the mothers and babies of Mbarara!

With all of your generous contributions we were able to place an order that includes 2 new dopplers (used for fetal monitoring during labor), a reusable self-inflating neonatal ambu bag (which I believe will really make a difference in the ability to resuscitate newborns who are not born vigorously crying), sutures (for surgical procedures/normal repairs), surgical blades and needle drivers, and some smaller supplies (gloves, catheters, tourniquets, etc). We will also be bringing 2 large duffle bags of neonatal supplies donated by the L&D and NICU units at UCLA.

I am so thankful to have such a wonderfully supportive group of friends and family! This trip is going to be infinitely more successful because of your generosity!

I will be posting updates from Mbarara, so that you all can see first-hand the results of your donations! Please check the blog for new entries.

I can't thank you all enough for your continued support!

In case anyone is wondering, we are planning to purchase more supplies upon arrival in Mbarara (especially antibiotics), so it is not too late to donate for this particular trip.

Mbarara University Hospital Needs your Help!

Wish List

BUNDLES:

These are examples of bundles of equipment that can be purchased with each donation tier ($25, $50, $75, $100). All actual purchases will be up to the discretion of Medicine of Humanity and its volunteers, unless you specify a particular item in writing (email/blog comment/letter accompanying check)

$25:

1) Newborn Bundle: 15 bulb suctions or 25 baby hats

2) Fetal Monitoring Bundle: box of 12 bottles of ultrasound gel for the doppler

3) Healthcare Worker Protection: box of protective gowns

4) Surgical Bundle: box of sterile gloves

5) Antibiotics: Approximately 25 doses of antibiotics

$50:

1) Newborn Bundle: box of baby hats and 3 digital thermometers or 50 bulb suctions

2) Fetal Monitoring Bundle: 3 replacement doppler batteries or 2 boxes of gel

3) Baggage Fees: help us to fly an overweight bag full of supplies

4) Surgical Bundle: 2 boxes of sterile gloves

5) Healthcare Worker Protection: 3 needle drivers or 5 boxes of googles

$75:

1) Newborn Care: box of newborn receiving blankets

2) Fetal Monitoring: 1/4th towards purchase of a new doppler

3) Healthcare Worker Protection: case of non-sterile gloves

4) Antibiotics: Approximately 75 doses

$100:

1) Newborn Care: Resque Vac unit (portable suction)

2) Surgical: Box of O Vicryl suture or a case of sterile gloves

3) Baggage Fees: pays for an additional piece of checked baggage full of supplies

4) Fetal Monitoring: 4 boxes of ultrasound gel or 5 doppler batteries

5) Antibiotics: Approximately 100 doses

Specialty Items:

1) New Doppler: $360

2) Waterproof Doppler: $550

***to be updated, check back for new items in demand****

Donations over $100 be used for purchasing more than one bundle of equipment or put towards a higher cost piece of equipment

Photos from Mbarara

Fundraising Explanation

In February 2009 I spent two and a half weeks as a volunteer obstetric nurse at a teaching hospital in Western Uganda (Mbarara Referral Hospital) with a team of nurses and doctors from UCLA working along with the organization Medicine for Humanity.

The experience was exceptionally inspirational and educational while at the same time overwhelmingly difficult and shocking. The hospital cannot afford basic supplies, and therefore, patients must bring their own surgical gloves and purchase their own antibiotics. Patients are also expected to bring their own linens, including receiving blankets for newborns, and sheets to sleep on after delivery. If a patient cannot afford these supplies there are rarely free or donated options. Otherwise healthy women may die because they are unable to afford the antibiotics needed to treat a postpartum infection. On an systemic level, emergency cesarean deliveries are delayed for hours, even days due to a lack of sterile surgical gloves, or because the surgical drapes, gowns, and lap pads need to be laundered and dried under the sun. After attempting a full resuscitation on an apenic baby I was told not to “waste” oxygen. I later learned that the entire hospital has an oxygen shortage.

Kari Waddell and I (Lisa Miller) are planning to return to Mbarara in September (10th-27th) and we would like to bring supplies that will be useful in acute situations (antibiotics, sterile gloves, sutures) as well as sustainable interventions (doppler, portable suction, ultrasound gel and batteries).

This is where you all come in!

Please check out our Wish List (on the right side bar) and if you feel inclined, you can donate money towards supplies directly from this blog. The "bundles" on the Wish List are packages of items that total to make an even amount of money for simple no-brainer donations. Please choose a bundle and email me or Kari (lisamillertime@gmail.com , Kari5656@gmail.com) with your donation preferences or write a comment on the blog. If there is a specific item you would like to donate towards (rather than a bundle) we can also make that happen...just let us know.

Checks are the preferred method of payment for donations. Medicine for Humanity can accept credit card or paypal payments, however, some of the donation is lost in processing costs.

Please send donations directly to Medicine for Humanity:

Medicine for Humanity

22866 Beckledge Terrace

Malibu, CA 90265

Or, if you would like to use a credit card/paypal account, click on the link:

Donate

Medicine for Humanity is a small organization, and therefore these donations will not get lost in operational costs or confusing bureaucracy. 100% of the donations received will go directly towards getting these supplies to the patients in Mbarara... no overhead costs, no admin fees, no airfare costs. All of it will go straight towards directly helping the patients.

Medicine for Humanity is a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization.

All donations are tax-deductable and a receipt will be provided with the tax ID number.

Donation Link

To Donate for Supplies Click here!

DONATIONS

Mail checks to:

Medicine for Humanity

22866 Beckledge Terrace

Malibu, CA 90265