A look around ABC Community Clinic

This blog is a description of the ABC Community Clinic and Inpatient Ward. Most days start about 745 with devotions and prayer. Then I round on inpatients at the ward. After that outpatient clinic starts at 830 and goes until 1230pm, then restarts at 2pm until 430 pm. I then do afternoon rounds at the ward and then call it a day! As I am the only full time doctor at ABC currently, things can get really busy.

the inpatient ward

The inpatient ward has capacity for about 18 but generally we have about 4 patients at a time. Admissions primarily have malaria or other infectious disease requiring IV hydration and antibiotics. We have also admitted premature babies for phototherapy and failure to thrive. Many admissions also have complications from HIV.

the new ambulance

ABC Community Clinic was donated the funds for the new ambulance by a patients family as a way of saying "thank you" to Dr. John Jones for his care of their sick mother while he served here last year. The stretcher just fits in the back!

Danford

Part of what I enjoy about working at ABC is the Malawian nationals that I work with. Danford, pictured above, started out at as a house helper at ABC as a teenager. One of the ABC missionary staff realized his potential and sent him to school. He completed his education and is now on the clinical officers (equivalent of US physician assistant) at the clinic. He oversees the HIV/AIDS work done at the clinic including collection of CD4 counts and followup as well as keeping up with National Aids Commission guidelines on HIV management. He is a true joy to work with and has a heart for the people of Malawi.

Olita

Olita, a nurse at the nurse's desk in the inpatient ward. Olita used to be an operating room nurse at the central hospital. She has been key in renovating our OR for upcoming surgery. Unfortunately nurses here seem to have as much paperwork as nurses in the US.

A little boy with malaria getting an "drip" with IV Quinine. He was better (conscious, eating) the next morning and went home. I am amazed at how children with malaria recover so quickly with malaria if given the medications quickly. Unfortunately we have about several children each month who don't make it because of delay of seeking treatment .

Loveness and Judith

Loveness (r) and Judith (l) are two other nurses. They are waiting for patients at the nurse triage desk. Patients get a blood pressure and weight and are triaged to the lab for malaria screening if they are febrile even before I see them.

Rashid

Rashid is another of the clinical officers that I work with. As you can see he has a contagious smile. He is also exceptionally smart and amazing at putting IVs into dehydrated little babies. I have learned so much from the clinical officers. Patients want to come see me because I am western trained and have an MD behind my name, but the ABC clinical officers are extremely knowledgable, excellent clinicians and have a lot more experience with tropical diseases than I do. I dont think I would be able to practice here without them.

James

James is the senior lab technician. Here he is looking at slide for malaria parasites. Our lab can screen for most infectious diseases, run complete cell counts and serum chemistries as well liver function, cholesterol, check for tumor markers as well as urinalysis and stool studies.

This is one of two pharmacies at the clinic. Its well stocked with a representative of most class of drug. I brought a good number of medicines with us from the US just to find them in the clinic pharmacy as well.

my exam room

Patients wait in an adjacent waiting room until its their turn. Unlike the US where clinicians rotate between patient room, here patients move from room to room and the clinician stays in one room. So after I see a patient I will send them to a different location for a procedure, lab or xray.

my office

Its full of supplies and medicines that have been donated from visiting medical teams. Medicines and supplies that have been donated cannot be allocated a charge or fee so I have kept them separate from the clinic's supply. We are in the process of setting up community health (village) outreach clinics in three rural sites in cooperation with other mission and developmental NGOs here in Malawi. These supplies will be used for those clinic and evangelism outreach projects.