Saturday May 29, 2010
Today is the day we explored different health care options in the area. First we visited the Karatu Lutheran Hospital, a 100 bed area hospital. Children under 5, adults over 60, and pregnant mothers are entitled to free health care according to an agreement with the Tanzanian government. The leading disease treated is malaria, which is on the decline due to the use of nets and an education campaign. This is followed by pneumonia, tuberculosis, animal attacks (rabies from dogs, buffalo attacking in the crater), and motor accidents (not surprising – having now experienced the roads and the driving habits!) And of course, there is HIV. This hospital has about 1000 patients with HIV on an out-patient basis. The availability of ARV drugs has now made this a manageable disease as opposed to the death sentence it was a few short years ago.
The hospital lacked a lot of the things one would expect from a western hospital, and although relatively clean, it did not seem like a place anyone should be if they were sick. Nurses were very scarce, and a very depressing, almost hopeless atmosphere lingered. Operating rooms were somewhat open and not very sterile.
After lunch we drove into the hills to visit the privately run FAME health care center http://www.fameafrica.org/. Very beautiful scenery. Still under construction, this hospital is funded completely by private donations from the U.S. and run by an American doctor. As well as a clinic, there is also a mobile clinic. Everything here seemed much more familiar.
The hospital lacked a lot of the things one would expect from a western hospital, and although relatively clean, it did not seem like a place anyone should be if they were sick. Nurses were very scarce, and a very depressing, almost hopeless atmosphere lingered. Operating rooms were somewhat open and not very sterile.
After lunch we drove into the hills to visit the privately run FAME health care center http://www.fameafrica.org/. Very beautiful scenery. Still under construction, this hospital is funded completely by private donations from the U.S. and run by an American doctor. As well as a clinic, there is also a mobile clinic. Everything here seemed much more familiar.
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