Andy & I recently had the opportunity to visit some of the locations where Mercy Ships is holding screenings and clinics around Togo. Here is some information and pictures about some of those sites.
The Hospitality Centre
The Hospitality Center, situated about 3 ½ km. (two miles) from where the
Africa Mercy is docked, opened its doors the first week in March. The 40-bed facility offers overnight provision for up to 90 patients awaiting surgeries and other procedures. It also provides on-land office space for eye services and other programs.
During its first week of operation, the Center handled pre-op and post -op services for 240 eye patients. Eighty of those patients were receiving cataract surgery. Eye Specialist Woody Hopper, who heads the eye services office, estimates that 1600 eye patients will utilize the facility during this field service.
The Center also housed 88 patients and caregivers overnight to prevent travel problems during Togo's recent national election.
Surrounded by a gated cement wall, the Hospitality Center is a peaceful oasis in the middle of the tumultuous city of Lomé. It is housed in a government-owned clinic that is being transformed into a hospital. The Togolese government is allowing Mercy Ships to use one wing of the clinic for the duration of the Togo Field Service. Mercy Ships workers have replaced the leaky roof, installed electricity and air-conditioning, and done a thorough cleaning. The result is a sanitary, up-to-date, and pleasant environment for patients awaiting medical services.
The Hospitality Center is under the supervision of Mark Palmer, Land-Based Programs Manager. The management team Barry and Cheryl Wells, Chris Coburn, and Ellen DePagter share the workload. They are assisted by 22 day-volunteers, divided into teams to do maintenance, drive the shuttles, and assist guests.
On the Center's opening day, 30 patients received pre-op services before Dr. Glenn Strauss (pictured in the operating room above) performed their eye surgeries onboard the
Africa Mercy . They returned to the Center for post-op care, including instructions and eye care products.
Outside seating area - The cooking for the patients is also done outside under another covered area seen in the background of this picture.
The Dental Clinic
Every morning at 8 a.m., a dedicated group of dentists, dental assistants, a dental hygienist and translators set out across Lomé, Togo, to the dental clinic run by Mercy Ships. The clinic is a quick 25-minute drive through the city center and has been named Round Point Clinic by the
Africa Mercy dental team.
The three-story building that houses the dental clinic is owned by the Ministry of Health. It features air-conditioning and adequate space to provide a comfortable environment for patients and Mercy Ships volunteers. The Round Point Clinic accommodates all aspects of the dental clinic: screenings, reception, waiting room and dental procedures & dental care teaching programs.
Dental screenings are held on Mondays and Thursdays, with an average turnout of about 250 potential patients. Gini Porter, Dental Coordinator, and Sieh Moore, Assistant Dental Coordinator, conduct the screenings to identify patients with a range of dental issues from simple cavities to large, deformity-causing abscesses.
The coordinators schedule 50 to 60 appointments daily. Patients screened on Monday receive appointments for Monday through Wednesday. Patients screened on Thursday receive appointments for Thursday and Friday. Most patients are willing to wait all day to be seen by the Mercy Ships dentists.
Due to the lack of dental services in Togo, most people have never seen a dentist. Most of them do not know how to care for their teeth properly. The dental clinic addresses this problem in several ways. Patients in the waiting area are taught how to properly brush and care for their teeth, and they are given toothbrushes. Then their teeth are cleaned by the volunteer dental hygienist in order to reduce the risk of cavities and infections.
The dental clinic will be in operation until August, throughout the entire Togo Field Service. The dental teams work diligently every day extracting teeth, filling cavities and even constructing new teeth. It is estimated that several thousand people will be seen, most of whom will find relief from pain for the first time in their lives.
We also visited one of the surgical screening sites.
An ecstatic Togolese lady shows off her surgery appointment card with enthusiasm.
During the Togo Field Service, Mercy Ships will be testing a new format for screening patients. Several pre-screenings will be conducted from February until April - in multiple locations rather than one mass screening. This will allow our teams to reach multiple areas of need while hopefully reducing the size of the crowd that normally appears during large screenings. It is our hope that prospective patients will have less time to wait to be examined while also reducing security concerns that come with large groups.
According to Rachel Dix, the screening coordinator for the
Africa Mercy , the new screening process should enable Mercy Ships to accommodate more people. "We only schedule
surgeries for two-week blocks of time," explains Rachel. "This will allow some flexibility in our surgical schedule. So if we have a very large case that comes at the end of the year, we'll still be able to accommodate it."
General medical screenings will be held every week for ten weeks. The screenings will take place at predetermined locations in Lomé. In previous field services, screenings were held dockside, adjacent to the
Africa Mercy .
In addition to the Lomé screenings, Dr. Tony and Ann Giles, have agreed to travel up-country for one month to conduct mobile screenings. All potential surgical patients then can be transported to the Mercy Ships Hospitality Center in Lomé for further evaluation.
The crew and staff are excited and optimistic about the new screening procedure. The method may vary somewhat, but the result remains the same - hope and healing for the people of Togo.
