Once in Wa (the capital of Ghana’s Upper West Region), thanks to my previously explained dialing mistake, I quickly set up a meeting with the Regional Director of Health Services. After a chat in his office about MedPLUS Connect’s next shipment to the Nandom District Hospital, which is located in his region, he offered his personal car and driver for my day of site visits. In the morning, I traveled to the Nandom District Hospital to meet the new Medical Director who had been in Europe getting his MPH when I initially visited the hospital to tour the facilities and explain the MedPLUS model. As the sole doctor at Nandom (a 144 bed hospital), Dr. Robert performs every surgery, provides the ultimate consult on each patient, and attends every complicated childbirth no matter the time of day of night. Even more incredible, his duties extend beyond providing medical care to every aspect of the daily functioning of the hospital…from petitioning the MOH for funding for hospital construction down to signing each receipt for gas for hospital vehicles.
Patients Outside Nandom District Hospital
At various points throughout our meeting, Dr. Robert performed surgery on a child with a congenital intestinal defect (which I eagerly scrubbed in for and observed!), comforted several family members, performed a lumbar puncture to test for suspected meningitis (so cool!), and taught a nurse how to chart blood pressure…all with a huge smile and infectious enthusiasm.
Me and Dr. Robert and in Scrubs After Surgery
The Nandom District Hospital recently built a new maternity ward and the twelve beds and mattresses that are current en route to Ghana, along with the IV poles, bed side tables, and other supplies will be primarily used to fill the empty rooms.
Empty Maternity Ward at Nandom
I am so happy, that in our small part, MedPLUS Connect will help Dr. Robert in providing care for his patients. As I look forward to beginning medical school in August, Dr. Robert serves as yet another Ghanaian model for the type of doctor that I hope to become.