Myungsung Christian Medical Center

Addis Ababa is a city of some three million in the center of Ethiopia, on the horn of Eastern Africa. It is located at the base of Mount Entoto at 7,546ft and is a subtropical climate with temperatures ranging from 68-86F. Their winter is from mid-November to January with the heaviest rainfall from June to early October.

Historically, Addis Ababa was an imperial city until its occupation by Italy in the 1930’s. Since then it has been one of the political and economical centers of Eastern Africa with the African Union’s headquarters located here.

Become familiar with Ethiopia’s culture, history and economy by reviewing the Wikipedia Ethiopia Profile. Rich resource for Ethiopia health information include the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation IHME Ethiopia Country Profile and the World Health Organization Global Health Observatory Ethiopia Data.

Ethiopia is one of the poorest nations in the world as their economy is primarily based on agriculture, one that which suffers extensively during their extended seasons of drought. Half of the patients served by the hospital are from Addis Ababa and the other half are from Eritrea, Somalia and Southern Sudan. Some of the patients walk for days to receive care at the medical center and are extremely grateful. In general, Ethiopian culture is very friendly and unhurried in nature.

Many of the patients have chronic diseases like diabetes, hypertension and coronary artery disease. However, the majority of the illnesses are related to infectious diseases, trauma, burns, malnutrition, birth defects or HIV/AIDS.

All Ethiopian higher education is done in English; thus, healthcare professionals in Ethiopia speak English and assist in translation for visitors. Approximately 1/3 of patients speak some English while the majority of patients speak Amharic, Arabic or a regional dialect.

Myungsung Medical Center was opened in 2004 as a private, nonprofit facility. It is funded primarily by Myungsung Church in South Korea, but also receives funds, supplies, and equipment from various governmental and non-governmental organizations. In addition, the medical center charges patients on a sliding scale fee-for-service basis.

The facility has 100 beds in five wards: one general surgery/neurosurgery, one orthopedics, one medicine, one pediatric, and one maternity. Outpatient clinics include pediatrics, medicine, ophthalmology, and dentistry. There is a new emergency room with a well-trained trauma team as well.

In addition to conventional x-ray machines, the hospital has a state of the art CT scanner. The operating rooms are very well equipped with two portable C-arm machines, an operating microscope, endoscopies/laparoscopies, and fully trained operating room personnel.

The founding South Korean church has a ministry at the medical center and the current director Chul Soo Kim is a from Myungsung. Sermons by an Ethiopian pastor are provided twice a week in the waiting room. Yet there is complete freedom for patients to express their own faiths. Christian, Muslim, and Jewish staff work together at the medical center.

Myungsung Christian Medical Center are staffed by Ethiopian and international staff. Approximately half of the physicians and nurses are from Ethiopia, including the Chief Medical Officer. The other half are from countries like Norway, the Netherlands, Germany, Korea, Japan, and the United States. These are assisted by a variety of short-term healthcare personnel from Korea, Scandinavia, and the U.S. A particularly large contingent of America neurosurgeons serve at MCM on a rotating basis.

Ethiopia has approximately 1.1 million people living with HIV/AIDS and has shown a decrease in the number of HIV/AIDS deaths due in part to improved access to treatment. The Ethiopian government pays for all patients with HIV/AIDS to receive antiretroviral treatment.

Myungsung Christian Medical Center has a specialized HIV department that specializes in the inpatient and outpatient care of patients with HIV. The team is eager to teach and train visitors in the care of HIV patients in resource poor settings.

Myungsung Medical Center is located in the inner city of Addis Ababa. In 2009, the medical center received mobile clinic facilities to conduct primary care clinics in the poorest areas of the city. They are fully equipped clinical facilities that rotate throughout the city providing care to patients who cannot make it to the medical center.

The medical center and visiting health profession teams from countries like Korea and the United States conduct frequent medical outreach trips to the surrounding villages: Ginchi (120km), Hagremariam (600km), and Gumuz (600km).

INMED invites all participants to consider raising extra funds to donate to support this facility. While such efforts are not required, they will provide opportunities INMED personnel to become involved in this important aspect of international medicine.

Wireless and LAN cable Internet are available in the guesthouses and visitors are encouraged to bring their own laptops. Cell phone service to the U.S. is intermittent.

http://www.mcmet.org