Medical
Ghana’s medical system has a lack of leadership in the knowledge and management of their medical system. This, combined with the lack of competition, has resulted in a mismanagement of resources that favors administration rather than patients.
Our goal is to provide medical services to the under served and overlooked population of central Ghana and help them in structuring their own
Ghana
Population: 26 million
791 Physicians in the entire country provide services in 172 under equipped hospitals
10 anesthesiologists
16 pediatricians
24 internists
24 orthopedics
5 radiology technicians
51 surgeons
15 neurosurgeons
466 general practitioners
The World Health Organization has determined that a ration of 20 physicians per 100,000 people (1:5,000) should be global standard. Ghana currently has one physician for every 32,870 people
47% of recently trained medical professionals serve abroad attracted to more lucrative positions
Communicable diseases (e.g. malaria, HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and vaccine-preventable diseases) remain the main cause of infant mortality
Outbreaks of meningitis, cholera and guinea worm and common
Maternal mortality in a national emergency
The failure to understand personal medical management continues to be a major hindrance to effective health care
Operation Dignity International’s Solution
Partnership
Education
Medical Trips
Dental Trips
Partnership and Education
Our founder, Jim Sullivan, had the opportunity to talk with a Ghanaian Chief as well as other locals for many long hours. They told of mothers dying in childbirth, children dying from malaria, and countless others suffering from diabetes, infections, AIDs, hypertension and other health problems. With the nearest clinic/hospital typically at a two-hour taxi ride away, a trip that takes a day by foot for those who cannot afford transportation, (sometimes hospitals are farther depending on the location of the village) these people have virtually no access to basic care. With this information and our research, we have discovered that 90% of this regional population have never received basic medical care.
As a result of these findings, ODI began its work partnering with the people in Ghana by organizing and sending U.S. medical and dental mission teams to Adagya, a village community located in central Ghana that has a population of 3,000. Since 2010, ODI has provided over 11 free medical clinics with over 10,000 medical and 3,500 dental patient visits.
In addition to serving an emergent need, ODI’s medical and dental visits enabled us to uncover and understand the village culture, traditions, and values. This information has been valuable as it has given us insight into how we can best incorporate good health practices into basic education practices. Partnership and continued education for both us and the Ghanaians are crucial for ongoing and long-term effectiveness in our efforts.
Short Term Medical and Dental Trips
Since 2010 ODI has organized medical trips to Trede and Adagya with volunteer medical and dental professionals (mainly from Mayo Health Services and the Herbert dental clinic in Eau Claire, Wisconsin). These teams treat illnesses and provide basic health information to children, expectant mothers, and the elderly. Most of the patients have never visited a doctor, received an immunization, or had the benefit of an aspirin for pain. We cannot say enough good things about these servant teams who exhibit honor, respect and dignity for the Ghanaian population. These professionals bring much more than healing to the body, their gentleness and compassion has brought hope and healing to the soul.
Our ODI teams come equipped with
Antibiotics
Medications
Surgical supplies
Syringes
Bandages
Vaccines
Disinfectants
Most importantly, ODI teams come with expertise and a commitment to the dignity of the person
If you would like to join us on a trip and use your skills to help others please contact us!
Our Solutions & Goals
ODI is working to establish a central medical hub that will support mobile clinics to provide basic health information, immunizations, wound care and pre-and post-natal care, along with treatment for malaria, typhoid, and dysentery. There is an urgent need to fill the information gap that plagues the system. Medical personnel long for more training, access to the latest methods in patient care and collaboration with the U.S. A key to our current success has been blending our medical knowledge and resources with that of Ghanian nurses who understand their country’s health system.
Proposed Solutions
Create a master medical plan including administration, philosophy of care, job descriptions for medical personnel
Create a synergy and training between US and Ghana, sharing of information productive to closing the medical information gap
Organize and assist more medical teams serving in Ghana
Expected outcomes
Extended life expectancy for regional population
A decrease in preventable deaths through education and well care
Reduced number of mothers dying in childbirth
Eased suffering in the elderly population
Increased wellness in village children
A decrease the medical information gap regionally and nationally
Increased management and leadership in Ghanaian medical professionals
Articulated ethical policy options for the general care of patients
Shape a research agenda critical to monitoring the health situation in remote villages
Ability to assess ongoing health trends
Long Term Goals
100% access to medical information, preventive care, and acute emergent care
100% access to regular medical check-ups, pre-birth and after-birth support
100% access to medicines for malaria, typhoid, snake bites, and other deadly curable occurrences within the village
To accomplish these goals, ODI is working with medical associations in Ghana to enhance access to medical care on a normal and regular basis. We hope that by partnering with the people of Ghana we will be able to continue to help them move forward in allowing them easier access to health care.
If you have connections in the medical community and have a passion for teaching or working with people overseas, please contact us.
We need you help to reach these goals!
Success Stories From Past Medical Trips
Our medical teams have greatly impacted lives in the Ghanaian communities. Here are a few stories shared by our team members.
Bruiser
Bruiser ( a name given to a four-year-old by our team) was seen as an emergency case in 2012 because of an infected carotid gland. The doctor with our team told us the boy probably only had a week to live. Everyday, for four days, our doctors worked to drain Bruiser’s infection. By day three, the team was already seeing a difference in this little one. Each year when we return we see Bruiser running through the streets, greeting our medical team. He knows. His family knows. And we know that he is here today, celebrating many more birthdays, because our doctor was in the village. This four year old suffered from an infected carotid gland that had perforated spreading the infection. His mother did not know that the infection could have killed her son. Thanks to the efforts of Dr. Keith Allen this boy’s life was saved. After several surgeries during the week of the ODI’s team visit, and recivign IV antibiotics, the beautiful boy was feeling much better and able to return home to celebrate his fifth birthday.
The elderly lady who suffered a stroke
During our 2013 trip, we encountered an elderly lady in the village who had suffered a stroke. She was sent home by the hospital and doctors in Ghana with no hope. She couldn’t talk, couldn’t swallow, couldn’t walk-she was dying because of lack of hope. Our therapist saw her and wanted to help. She encouraged the family to sing songs to her, those that she had sung to her children when they were young. This stoke victim began to feebly smile and began humming and mouthing the words to Ghanaian folk tunes. The therapist tied a belt around her waist and began to show the family how they could help her walk. Just by turning her neck to one side our therapist showed the family how the could get their loved on to swallow. You wouldn’t believe the celebration of the family that time-it was a miracle.
Michael
Michael was seventeen when our team saw him in 2012 for a spinal cord injury. Michael had no use of his arms and could barely walk. He had been sent home by the doctors and hospital with no hope or help. Our medical teams started showing him exercises to help him walk and talk, just a little. With exercise they were able to get his arms moving so he could feed himself. Michaels dream was to be able to dress and feed himself. For three years, our ODI team returned and worked with Michael . When the team arrived in 2014 Michael was able to walk into the clinic himself. He is now able to dress and feed himself. His smile has improved greatly. His mothers smile is a grateful reminder that her son, by the touch of our medical team, has a future where he once was pronounced as “no hope.”
Each Patient is a life, more than just a story