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CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OAKLAND DOCTORS AND NURSES, CHORI CHILDREN'S GLOBAL HEALTH INITIATIVE RETURN TO UGANDA TO TRAIN CLINICIANS AND DELIVER MEDICAL SUPPLIES

APRIL 20 , 2012 - Oakland, CA
Read article about 2010 trip to Uganda >>

Nearly two years after helping to launch the first children’s hospital in Uganda, a group of Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland doctors, nurses, and clinical staff returned to Mbarara, Uganda to train doctors and nurses at Holy Innocents Children's Hospital Uganda in advanced techniques of neonatal care in January 2012.

Mary Coleman, MD, MPH, Director of International Development and Behavioral Pediatrics for Children’s Global Health Initiative (CGHI) and Ugandan Project Director led the trip. The Global Health Initiative is a Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) program that provides medical training, care, and research around the world. 

Providing Training
Volunteers from Children's Hospital Oakland included neonatologist Priscilla Joe, MD; neonatology nurses, Elizabeth Schaub, RN, and Tina Cloverdale, RN; and clinical nutritionist Marian Roan, MPH, RD, who trained Ugandan doctors and nurses to use lifesaving and innovative respiratory care technology, improve infection control, and nutrition education.

The Children’s Hospital Oakland neonatalogy team introduced the innovative bubble CPAP device, which improves respiratory care for infants and neonates. Holy Innocents Children’s Hospital is one of the first Ugandan hospitals to use this technology. The team also provided training on infection control; solutions for neonatal temperature regulation; nutrition assessment and training; and charting.

Dr. Coleman provided education in child development to trainees from the neighboring St. Francis Counsellor Training Institute.

The team was also able to visit the Mulago Neonatal Special Care unit in the Ugandan capital, Kampala to see how Holy Innocents was doing compared to the much larger Mulago referral hospital. The team was pleased to see that Holy Innocents was providing a comparable level of neonatal care in many areas.

Delivering Supplies
The team was also able to bring supplies including unique diaper covers created by generous Children's Hospital Oakland volunteer, Jane Young (mother of Children’s NICU nurse, Janie Otoshi, RN), and the reusable diaper company, Thirsties. Working with a local manufacturer, Thirsties and Jane contributed disposable, biodegradable diapers and reusable covers. The Ugandan mothers loved the new diapering solution and Ugandan nurses found it easier to keep babies clean, warm, and dry.

One of the greatest contributions to the Ugandan hospital was the donation of hundreds of pounds of medical supplies from Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland; AmeriCares; Daughters of Charity Health Care Systems; and Medshares.

In addition to medical supplies, other donations included updated software from KidsCareEverywhere; laptop computers and hardware; a solar suitcase and solar panels which provide energy for portable lighting, computers, suction machines, and oxygen concentrators to the hospital and ambulance from We Care Solar; and Alaska Airlines and Delta/KLM Airlines generously helped to defray baggage costs to transport the medical supplies.

Reaching Out Across the World
In total, the recent trip was the eighth trip to Holy Innocents Children's Hospital organized with the help of Children's Hospital Oakland Global Health Initiative-Uganda Project. Over the past two years teams have included pediatric specialists from Children's Hospital Oakland; doctors and nurses, faculty, volunteers, and students from University of Washington in Seattle; Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma, Wash.; USD, AmeriCares; Columbia University, University of California, San Diego; Cal State Northridge; Dominican University; and St. Mary's College in Moraga, Calif.

In September 2011, Chidren's Global Health Initiave welcomed Holy Innocents Ugandan Ambassador, Father Turyomumazima Bonaventure, to Northern California in September 2011 where he gave ground rounds with Dr. Coleman and met students, faculty, researcher and clinical staff from Children's Hospital Oakland, CHORI, UC Berkeley, St. Mary's College, Santa Clara University, the Oakland Archdiocese and the Daughters of Charity Health Care Systems before traveling to University of Washington, Seattle.

The Future
In April 2012, a group of students and faculty from St. Mary's College Graduate Business School in Moraga, Calif., traveled to Holy Innocents to help deliver supplies and assist the hospital in developing a plan for economic sustainability. The students are members of the Trans-Global MBA program and they have spent the last year learning about delivering sustainable healthcare services in Uganda and similar countries. Students have examined hospital operations, market conditions and best practices in international healthcare delivery to assist Holy Innocents in creating a sustainable model for maintenance and growth. St Mary's College along with University of California, Berkeley, and other neighboring institutions and community organizations, such as Collaborate for Africa, have been vital in helping the CHORI Global Health Initiative play a contributing role in the goal to improve pediatric well-being for children in Mbarara, Uganda.

The need for reliable sources of revenue, supplies, and medicines continues. The global economic downturn has been hard on Uganda with high inflation rates and continued shortages of water and power. Despite the challenges the patients continue to be compassionately served by competent and dedicated providers at Holy Innocents Children's Hospital. As the sole stand alone children’s hospital in the country, Holy Innocents has now taken care of over 50,000 children in the last 2 1/2 years. The demand is enormous and the results have been impressive. Children's Hospital Oakland and the Children’s Global Health Initiative looks forward to a continued collaboration with Holy Innocents.