Medical Mission # 2
Mission Addis Ababa
Team Members
Abraham Betre, MD., DO.
Tedla T. Tessema, MD., FACS.
Girma Tefera, MD., FACS.
Length of Mission
Three Weeks.
November to December, 2021
Destination
BAHIR DAR:
- Tibebe Ghion Specialized Hospital.
DEBRE BERHAN:
- Debre Berhan Specialized Hospital.
ADDIS ABABA:
- Millennium Trauma Center.
- Army Hospital.
Millennium Trauma Center & Armed Forces Hospital
This newly developed Millennium Trauma Center located in Addis Ababa was only operational for about 3 weeks at the time of our visit.
The Center has a capacity for 700 patients, and we were impressed how highly efficient and organized the Center was despite the critical shortage of medicine and medical equipment the country is facing.
Like any other Medical Institution; health care providers use cleaver medical improvisation to overcome the existing shortage of medical supplies.
The center have about 20 + relatively fully equipped ICU beds, about 20 something stepdown or HDU (high dependence unit), 6 OR tables.
The Operating Rooms get operated on non-stop basis 24 hour a day and 7 day a week; and this is amazing and unbelievable.
Physicians work on 12 hr. shifts, while Nurses on 8 hr. shifts and by doing so they have performed 370+ major operations in just 18 days since the center have been converted to a Trauma Center.
The Director: Dr. Wuletaw Chane, a Hepatobiliary/General surgeon runs this amazing show; they are stuffed with 6 orthopedic surgeons, 2 General surgeons, and a rotating subspecialty from BLH and St. Paul Hospital and residents.
The ICU, “Trauma Bay’ or initial resus following triage and identification of the “Red” patients is run by Emergency/Critical Care MDs.
The ICU is stuffed with critical Care RNs.