Things as usual… (Sept. 24 to 27)

Well, this weekend was pretty normal for here. We went to church, ate lunch, headed out on another Adventist Youth walk/sermon in the mango groves activity and then we called it a night with a movie. Sunday was laundry day, which took up a majority of our day. We’re settling into the work schedule and are still enjoying rounds with the doctors. We did get two more snakebite victims in the ER but that’s becoming pretty normal… We also had a case come in on Tuesday morning that was pretty interesting. A kid began having seizures after hitting his head on Monday. Unfortunately the only thing they can do at the hospital here is administer first aid and then send him to Vijayawada for further treatment.

That is one of the main problems with the hospital here. Giffard Memorial Hospital has so much potential to be the leading facility here in the region but in the past few years the administration has been unwilling to put the necessary funding into improving the hospital. By that I’m basically talking about hiring the appropriate specialists that the hospital needs to treat all kinds of cases. The only doctor who isn’t a family practice doc is a gynecologist who isn’t actually employed by the hospital but has a private clinic outside the compound. The sad part about this is that the hospital has 5 wings and 4 floors of which they are only using two floors and maybe 2-3 rooms on each wing. Also, since most of the community knows that GMH will only be able to administer first aid in the ER before sending them on to Vijayawada, most of the big cases go directly there without even stopping by GMH.

With some funding and doctors this hospital could be the go to hospital but it’s not even close to its full potential.

But nonetheless we’re having a great time here and learning more each day! SMing hasn’t been a cakewalk but hey, that’s not why we came over here! Blessings to you all back home, we miss everyone for sure!

Peace