Global Emergency Care Collaborative

GECC's initial undertaking has been a partnership with Karoli Lwanga Hospital in the Rukungiri district southwest of Uganda, Africa. This area of Uganda is rural with the nearest major city, Mbarara, being located about 150 km away (approximately a two hour drive). The countryside is mountainous, with the hospital at an altitude of about 5,000 feet (similar to that of Denver). The weather is nice essentially year round. There are two rainy seasons and two dry seasons but even during the rainy seasons, the sun is shining most of the day. Many fruits and vegetables are cultivated on the local hillsides and most of the people are farmers.

Karoli Lwanga Hospital, which is commonly known as Nyakibale Hospital, has grown from a modest health center in the late 1950's into a referral center for the Rujumbura Health sub-district. The hospital serves a catchment area of over 180,000 people of whom roughly half are under age 20. It is currently staffed by five physicians, several midlevel providers and a cadre of nurses as well as an on-site nursing school with 132 student-nurses in training.

While the Hospital has made great strides in the past several years in improving both the quality and accessibility of the services is offers by lowering fees, partnering with the US based group Mission Doctors Association (MDA) and expanding laboratory services there is still much work to be done. With the paving of the road in front of the hospital the Hospital is receiving more severe trauma patients as well as patients from farther outlying areas. The Hospital currently does not have the capacity to adequately care for these patients. In a recent mortality report, the Hospital noted that 8 of the 10 leading causes of death in the patient population are treatable with quality emergency care and resuscitation. Among these were trauma, severe malaria, pneumonia and meningitis.

In an attempt to respond to these findings the hospital administration allocated space for the creation of an emergency department. Through the contributions of two private donors, MDA raised enough money to construct the new department. From January until late May of 2008, local builders converted two rooms and a large closet into one large open space which on June 2nd, 2008 became the first emergency department of its kind in Uganda. This new department will serve as a treatment and stabilization unit for critically ill patients, as well as an initial evaluation and treatment area for all trauma patients. Contributions raised by two doctors working with GECC were used to buy needed supplies, including stretchers, oxygen equipment, splinting materials and cabinets to properly equip the emergency department. In the first month of operation, the emergency department saw over 500 patients, giving us a projected annual census of 6000-7000 patients.

To see a video of the emergency department and learn more about Nyakibale Hospital click here

Tour of Nyakibale Hospital Emergency Department