About UNC Project-Uganda

In 2004, a group of UNC physicians established the Amal Murarka International Pediatric Health Foundation in memory of their colleague, Dr. Amal Murarka, who died unexpectedly in 2003. The foundation sent a medical team to Kampala to establish the country's first pediatric intensive care unit at Mulago Hospital, Makerere University, where Dr. Murarka had previously conducted research. Subsequent work in 2007 and 2008 focused on pediatric cardiac surgery. The foundation not only built a cardiac ICU, but also performed a total of 21 life-saving pediatric cardiac surgeries.

In 2008 the foundation partnered with the Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases to establish UNC Project-Uganda.

Mission

The UNC Project-Uganda was established to support sustainable delivery of compassionate and competent health care to infants, children, and adolescents in Uganda; to improve the medical knowledge of the Ugandan health care workforce through in-country training and a physician exchange program; and to provide advanced medical equipment, medications, and services necessary for the delivery of compassionate and competent pediatric care in Uganda.

Friday, October 19, 2007

The experience so far

Words can't explain the experience I'm having here in Mulago Hospital. I'm finally setting in and learning the routine here. It has been such a great honor to help the intubated patients and to get them a step closer to recovery. A few have been a little challenging but I'm so grateful that the challenge was only a temporary issue. As a respiratory therapist, I had to learn how to run a new ventilator and discover new ways to adapt to the hospital's environment. For me, I know I have taken for granted the resources that we have in the U.S. This experience has truly humbled me and the nurses and doctors here in Mulago Hospital have taught me to be grateful for what I have available to me. The nurses are so eager to learn. There are no respiratory therapist here, so the nurses will have to learn the role of a respiratory therapist as well. I have met such wonderful and kind people that they constantly overwhelm me with such peace and joy. My days here are long (12-13 hours) everyday and yes by the end of the day I'm exhausted. However, when I walk in the next morning and a patient remembers my name, grabs my hand, and smiles, it reminds me of why I'm here.

Lupe Haynes RRT RCP
Posted by UNC UGANDA TEAM at 3:35 AM

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