Showing posts with label Clinic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clinic. Show all posts
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Officially Anouncing our NEW Maternity Project
I consider it a priveldge to serve alongside those who work at the PIM Clinic. I want to be abundantly clear, I have had very little to do with any of the daily operations of the clinic. I work with the current staff in coordinating our various ministries (Clinic, CHE, Church Planting). The medical missionaries who trained and worked with our current staff did an outstanding job preparing them, but then again they all are outstanding people. Even though there are no longer any medical missionaries serving at the PIM Clinic, the clinic continues to have a leading reputation not only in our own region, but even nationwide.
The PIM Clinic is considered one of the tops in HIV care and has the highest retention rate of HIV patients in the country... 15% higher than the second highest rate! Recently the CDC, PEPFAR (the US government's HIV/AIDS program) and our partner Elisabeth Glacier Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) came to our mission center to hear a presentation about how we function and specifically how we apply CHE in our HIV care and follow-up.
The true strength of the clinic is not in its programs, but its servant-minded people. It's not just a job, but a ministry and testimony to the love of Jesus Christ. We, CMF together with our national partners at the clinic, believe that God is leading us to make the next big step in serving the people of Ivory Coast. One of the areas in HIV care that we have struggled with at times is maternity care. Young women who have HIV still become pregnant and there are special needs and considerations to help the mother and to avoid mother-to-child HIV transmissions. It has become increasingly difficult to keep our patients' confidentiality and also administer timely and essential medcations to best serve our patients. This is why we decided to open our own maternity. By opening the maternity, the PIM Clinic will become the first full-service pediatric AIDS care center in the country. The CDC, PEPFAR and EGPAF were really excited to hear of our plans.
Our HIV patients now number more than 2,500... and the number continues to grow daily. The number of expectant mothers also continues to grow. Combined with Abengourou's lack of good maternity services, we feel now is the time to start our own maternity. We had originally planned to build a new maternity on our existing property, though it was already crowded, but God presented us with a wonderful opportunity to purchase an adjacent property with all the necessary structures (with space for possible future growth) to start all the services we were hoping to build. The cost of the new property is one-third (33%) of what it would have cost us to build. God is good and His plan was so much better than our own.
The total budget for the new maternity project is $84,792. The purchase of the property is $40,384 and we hope to have commitments for those funds in the next month or so. The rest of the budget is for equipment and a few renovations of the property. We are also hoping to receive donations for equipment (incubator, ultrasound machine, etc.) from other groups, so feel free to pass along the info and contact others about this incredible opportunity. We have already been blessed to have a significant partnering church step forward (Lebanon Christian Church, IN) and pray for many others as well. Our goal is to start using the new facility by mid-2013.
Please be in prayer for the entire process. Even purchasing the property could be messy and problematic. The big issue facing us now is that the property is not "owned" by one individual, but the children of a man who died many years ago. The man had three wives and even though the heads of the children from each of the three wives have agreed on the deal, we are waiting to hear from the others involved. There are currently 17 people who must agree to our purchase price and sign paperwork. It just takes one of them to complicate things (i.e. thinking they can get more money out of us or wanting a larger share). Pray that God would continue to open hearts and doors for the project.
Pray also for new ministry partners to step forward and join us in this new task. We are hoping not only to have financial partners, but prayer partners and mission project teams (short-term mission teams) participating as well. We are also praying for someone to serve as a labor and delivery nurse and/or mid-wife during the first intial years (or even long-term)of the maternity.
I also want to pass along my sincere gratitude to the following people who previously served as missionaries in the PIM Clinic: Dr. Brenda Clark (who started the clinic with FAME Canada), Dr. Marvin Clark, Dr. Mike Mawdsley, Juli Duvall-Jones, Henri Buregea, Dr. Bernie Bledsoe (who was instrumental in starting the HIV/AIDS ministry), Carrie Walters and Judy Fish. Each one of them served faithfully and sacrificially to help establish the PIM Clinic and make it what it is today. Their impact and influence continues in the lives of those serving today and those receiving care in the name of Jesus Christ. May God continue to bless you and work through you today.
The PIM Clinic is considered one of the tops in HIV care and has the highest retention rate of HIV patients in the country... 15% higher than the second highest rate! Recently the CDC, PEPFAR (the US government's HIV/AIDS program) and our partner Elisabeth Glacier Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) came to our mission center to hear a presentation about how we function and specifically how we apply CHE in our HIV care and follow-up.
The true strength of the clinic is not in its programs, but its servant-minded people. It's not just a job, but a ministry and testimony to the love of Jesus Christ. We, CMF together with our national partners at the clinic, believe that God is leading us to make the next big step in serving the people of Ivory Coast. One of the areas in HIV care that we have struggled with at times is maternity care. Young women who have HIV still become pregnant and there are special needs and considerations to help the mother and to avoid mother-to-child HIV transmissions. It has become increasingly difficult to keep our patients' confidentiality and also administer timely and essential medcations to best serve our patients. This is why we decided to open our own maternity. By opening the maternity, the PIM Clinic will become the first full-service pediatric AIDS care center in the country. The CDC, PEPFAR and EGPAF were really excited to hear of our plans.
Our HIV patients now number more than 2,500... and the number continues to grow daily. The number of expectant mothers also continues to grow. Combined with Abengourou's lack of good maternity services, we feel now is the time to start our own maternity. We had originally planned to build a new maternity on our existing property, though it was already crowded, but God presented us with a wonderful opportunity to purchase an adjacent property with all the necessary structures (with space for possible future growth) to start all the services we were hoping to build. The cost of the new property is one-third (33%) of what it would have cost us to build. God is good and His plan was so much better than our own.
The total budget for the new maternity project is $84,792. The purchase of the property is $40,384 and we hope to have commitments for those funds in the next month or so. The rest of the budget is for equipment and a few renovations of the property. We are also hoping to receive donations for equipment (incubator, ultrasound machine, etc.) from other groups, so feel free to pass along the info and contact others about this incredible opportunity. We have already been blessed to have a significant partnering church step forward (Lebanon Christian Church, IN) and pray for many others as well. Our goal is to start using the new facility by mid-2013.
Please be in prayer for the entire process. Even purchasing the property could be messy and problematic. The big issue facing us now is that the property is not "owned" by one individual, but the children of a man who died many years ago. The man had three wives and even though the heads of the children from each of the three wives have agreed on the deal, we are waiting to hear from the others involved. There are currently 17 people who must agree to our purchase price and sign paperwork. It just takes one of them to complicate things (i.e. thinking they can get more money out of us or wanting a larger share). Pray that God would continue to open hearts and doors for the project.
Pray also for new ministry partners to step forward and join us in this new task. We are hoping not only to have financial partners, but prayer partners and mission project teams (short-term mission teams) participating as well. We are also praying for someone to serve as a labor and delivery nurse and/or mid-wife during the first intial years (or even long-term)of the maternity.
I also want to pass along my sincere gratitude to the following people who previously served as missionaries in the PIM Clinic: Dr. Brenda Clark (who started the clinic with FAME Canada), Dr. Marvin Clark, Dr. Mike Mawdsley, Juli Duvall-Jones, Henri Buregea, Dr. Bernie Bledsoe (who was instrumental in starting the HIV/AIDS ministry), Carrie Walters and Judy Fish. Each one of them served faithfully and sacrificially to help establish the PIM Clinic and make it what it is today. Their impact and influence continues in the lives of those serving today and those receiving care in the name of Jesus Christ. May God continue to bless you and work through you today.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
August Update
Last month we were blessed to have a group come from the Second Church of Christ in Danville, IL work with us in several different projects. There was a lot going on at the same time, but everything seemed to come together and a lot of good work was accomplished for the Kingdom. All the various activities gives us a good glimpse into what has been going on here in Abengourou with the Mission Chretienne en Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast Christian Mission).
Dental Clinic
A dentist, Dr. Phil, headed up the dental team with Dr. Sally (an emergency room physician) assisting him. Over a span of four days, they were able to see over 120 people (I think they lost count of how many teeth they fixed or took out). Many of the patients were some of the PIM clinic's HIV+ patients and members from our church. During the weekend they went along with our clinic chaplain, Wisdom, to make a few home visits of some of the HIV+ patients. It has been quite some time since the last time our mission hosted a dental clinic (at least 7 or 8 years) and good dental care is something most cannot afford nor find for that matter. It was a nice added bonus for our two missionary families to be able to get our teeth checked out and cleaned as well.
Mother-in-law Moral Support
Stephanie's mother also made the trip with this group. The kids were pretty excited to get to see Granny. It was nice to get to visit with her, though personally I was rarely home during her time here. But the rest of the family got a good dose of family that makes missing home a little easier. She also helped Stephanie paint our living room and side porch (not all her time was fun and games with the grandkids). It was nice to see her and get a bunch of goodies (which has not helped my weight-loss program... oh well) from the States.
Mission Compound Landscaping & Training Center Maintenance
A handful of folks worked hard on getting things looking a little better around the mission property. They helped get the church entrance looking better and created a few walking paths with some stone and brick pavers. They also painted the large meeting/classroom in the training center and making a few repairs throughout the center's interior (many thanks goes to Dr. Sally's husband, John, who headed it all up and did much of the work himself). It will help the mission and Association of Christian Churches in Ivory Coast have not only a nice place to hold their various trainings and meetings, but also rent out to other groups in order to help with the ongoing costs of the training center.
Leadership Training Seminar
Over the past several years the Mission and national Association of Christian Churches has been working towards the transition of oversight of the church planting and leadership training programs among the Agni and Attie people groups from the Mission to the Association. Two years ago Stephanie's Uncle Dale, who is the Executive Minister at Second Church of Christ, came to teach a seminar on strategic planning to the Executive Bureau of the Association.
Dale returned with this group and lead another seminar called "Lead Like Jesus." All the national and regional directors of the various ministries of the Association along with the Executive Bureau (a total of 30 people) took part in the three day seminar. Not only did we expand on the strategic planning principles previously taught, but the necessity of following Jesus' example not only as disciples, but as leaders as well. We talked about how leading and serving are not antonymous as most believe, but two essential aspects of leading like Jesus.
Coco-terrain Prayer Walk
On one of the final days of their trip, we went down to the region of Coco-terrain, where we are hoping to start a CHE plant. We spent the morning walking around seeing the area and meeting some of the folks we have been getting to know over the last couple of months. It doesn't take long to see the needs surrounding you, but at the same time the generosity of the people of Coco-terrain. We ended our walk on the outskirts of town, overlooking the region, praying for its leaders, the various families, that CHE would take hold, but most importantly that Christ would take hold of their lives.
I sincerely thank the Second Church of Christ Mission Team for not only their hard work, but that they poured their hearts into the lives of the people here in Abengourou. May the Lord bless them and those they came to serve.
Dental Clinic
A dentist, Dr. Phil, headed up the dental team with Dr. Sally (an emergency room physician) assisting him. Over a span of four days, they were able to see over 120 people (I think they lost count of how many teeth they fixed or took out). Many of the patients were some of the PIM clinic's HIV+ patients and members from our church. During the weekend they went along with our clinic chaplain, Wisdom, to make a few home visits of some of the HIV+ patients. It has been quite some time since the last time our mission hosted a dental clinic (at least 7 or 8 years) and good dental care is something most cannot afford nor find for that matter. It was a nice added bonus for our two missionary families to be able to get our teeth checked out and cleaned as well.
Mother-in-law Moral Support
Stephanie's mother also made the trip with this group. The kids were pretty excited to get to see Granny. It was nice to get to visit with her, though personally I was rarely home during her time here. But the rest of the family got a good dose of family that makes missing home a little easier. She also helped Stephanie paint our living room and side porch (not all her time was fun and games with the grandkids). It was nice to see her and get a bunch of goodies (which has not helped my weight-loss program... oh well) from the States.
Mission Compound Landscaping & Training Center Maintenance
A handful of folks worked hard on getting things looking a little better around the mission property. They helped get the church entrance looking better and created a few walking paths with some stone and brick pavers. They also painted the large meeting/classroom in the training center and making a few repairs throughout the center's interior (many thanks goes to Dr. Sally's husband, John, who headed it all up and did much of the work himself). It will help the mission and Association of Christian Churches in Ivory Coast have not only a nice place to hold their various trainings and meetings, but also rent out to other groups in order to help with the ongoing costs of the training center.
Leadership Training Seminar
Over the past several years the Mission and national Association of Christian Churches has been working towards the transition of oversight of the church planting and leadership training programs among the Agni and Attie people groups from the Mission to the Association. Two years ago Stephanie's Uncle Dale, who is the Executive Minister at Second Church of Christ, came to teach a seminar on strategic planning to the Executive Bureau of the Association.
Dale returned with this group and lead another seminar called "Lead Like Jesus." All the national and regional directors of the various ministries of the Association along with the Executive Bureau (a total of 30 people) took part in the three day seminar. Not only did we expand on the strategic planning principles previously taught, but the necessity of following Jesus' example not only as disciples, but as leaders as well. We talked about how leading and serving are not antonymous as most believe, but two essential aspects of leading like Jesus.
Coco-terrain Prayer Walk
On one of the final days of their trip, we went down to the region of Coco-terrain, where we are hoping to start a CHE plant. We spent the morning walking around seeing the area and meeting some of the folks we have been getting to know over the last couple of months. It doesn't take long to see the needs surrounding you, but at the same time the generosity of the people of Coco-terrain. We ended our walk on the outskirts of town, overlooking the region, praying for its leaders, the various families, that CHE would take hold, but most importantly that Christ would take hold of their lives.
I sincerely thank the Second Church of Christ Mission Team for not only their hard work, but that they poured their hearts into the lives of the people here in Abengourou. May the Lord bless them and those they came to serve.
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