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September 25, 2009 New Equipment Being Purchased from Nepali Contributions While FOPH and the Nick Simons Foundation have been playing the key roles in updating the equipment at Patan Hospital, this year significant funds also have been raised from Nepalese contributions. These have been encouraged by the generous offer of Jim and Marilyn Simons to match all funds raised in Nepal for Patan Hospital. As a result, the hospital soon will have a haemodialysis and nephrology unit (at a cost of $130,000) and the equipment to use digital X-ray technology (at a cost of $51,000). June 15, 2009 to August 1, 2009 NICU and PICU Units Started Up
Starting on June 15 a team of 20 FOPH volunteers trained over 40 of the Patan Hospital personnel who will be involved in the NICU (neonatal
The units were started up in early July and by July 15 both were fully functional and lives were being saved. Training continued, shifting from classroom lectures to working alongside the Nepal staff. Many of the volunteers worked long hours. And some of the volunteers plan to return to Kathmandu in either November, 2009 or next year for follow-up training. February, 2009 FOPH Donates Funds For A New ICU & For An Endoscopy Suite Once there were sufficient resources to furnish the new 150-bed maternity wing, the number one priority at Patan became a new enlarged ICU to replace the very outdated 5-bed unit. The plan was for an ICU with 10 beds (later reduced to 9 because of space limitations) that would be much better equipped than at present. The present ICU would then be converted to a High Dependency Unit (HDU). An HDU is needed since many sick patients after surgery now have to be transferred directly to the ward, increasing their risk of both morbidity and mortality. Such patients require close monitoring, but not intensive management, and keeping them in an ICU is a waste of strained resources. The estimated cost for the new ICU was almost $150,000. Because of the great need for this life-saving improvement, $50,000 was raised in donations in Nepal. This was matched by an equal amount from Jim and Marilyn Simons. The hospital then requested $50,000 from FOPH so that it could proceed with this important improvement. The FOPH Board quickly approved this request and the new ICU will be available for use in several months. Another pressing need at Patan was for a new video gastroscope, an important diagnostic tool. There was one at Patan which had been donated used a long time ago. It now was giving poor quality pictures and was not expected to be able to do even that in a short time. Also, all endoscopy was being done in the main operating room which caused problems. These problems will be solved by FOPH's donation of a gastroscope which will be placed in a new endoscopy suite at a cost of $25,000 donated by FOPH. February, 2009 FOPH Helping Health Care In Rural Areas FOPH is making a large difference in the care that can be given in Okhaldhunga Community Hospital which is in a very poor area in eastern Nepal. In the past year, on a trial basis, FOPH has included equipment and supplies for the Okhaldhunga Hospital in its Project C.U.R.E. shipments, using 15 to 20 percent of the shipping container. The material destined for Okhaldhunga is unloaded at Patan, temporarily stored, and then trucked to near the hospital from where it is carried to the hospital. This has worked satisfactorily for all parties involved. Okhaldhunga is a charity hospital much like Patan and has a strong relationship with Patan. All Patan resident physicians do a rotation at Okhaldhunga to acquaint them with medicine in the rural areas and Okhaldhunga sends patients to Patan who cannot be treated at the rural hospital. The support FOPH gives Patan Hospital helps in the rural areas in many other ways since Patan continues to increase its programs to train health care workers at a number of levels. Now there is a good chance that Patan may play a direct role by being central to a Nepali-government-funded telemedicine program to allow rural hospitals to communicate with specialists at Patan. January 15, 2009 PICU and NICU Units Funded Jim and Marilyn Simons, who donated the funding for the new maternity wing in memory of their son Nick, visited Patan Hospital on January 15. Most of the new wing had by this time been placed in operation and the Simons were so pleased with what they saw that they agreed to provide $300,000 so that the 6-bed PICU and 6-bed NICU units could be suitably equipped. These units, which will startup in June, will be firsts for Nepal. Led by Michele Avila-Emerson, a critical care nurse at Stanford and FOPH Vice President, and Dr. Sanjita Basnet, a Nepali pediatrician who works in Illinois, a 15-member U.S. team has been recruited to provide the necessary training this for these units to function properly. These volunteers held a weekend meeting in California early in January to develop the curriculum for training the Nepali staff. August 18, 2008 FOPH Board Meets in Kathmandu The Board of FOPH held a meeting in Kathmandu the day after the new Maternity Wing was dedicated. Four Directors from the United States and all three Directors resident in Kathmandu participated. In addition, several senior staff people at Patan Hospital also took part. Since many U.S. Directors were not present, it was agreed that no votes would be taken since the practice of voting by email has worked well, but this was a great opportunity to bring key hospital personnel into a wide-ranging discussion of how FOPH can help Patan and Nepal. Highlights of the discussion were: (1) There is broad agreement that FOPH and Patan should play a greater role in improving health care in the rural areas. The experiment of assisting Okhaldhunga Hospital by devoting a small part of a Project C.U.R.E. shipment to the needs of that rural hospital has been judged to be a success and there was agreement that this should continue with a maximum amount of 25 percent of a container. Okhaldhunga meets the requirements that should hold for assistance It is a charity hospital and has a close working relationship with Patan. For example, all Patan residents do a rotation there. (2) There also is broad interest in the possibilities of using telemedicine to aid rural hospitals. The government of Nepal is considering funding a telemedicine system which would use Patan Hospital as its center and connect rural hospitals to specialists at Patan. (3) The desirability of having foreign medical professionals spend time at Patan was discussed. While a stay of 4 weeks or more is most desirable, even a short visit or lecture can lead to a mutually beneficial relationship. (4) It was agreed that FOPH needs to get its message better publicized to bring professionals to Patan and to obtain support in the forms of money and equipment donations. A short video made into a DVD might be useful as would a new brochure. Stories are needed. (5) The desirability of having a Donor Relations Officer was broadly supported. This person would both help raise money in Nepal and assist FOPH in such ways as keeping in touch with Americans who spend time at Patan Hospital. The FOPH Board already has agreed to fund such a position and the hospital will be seeking a suitable person to fill it. (6) The older section of the hospital has many critical needs for maintenance. These include replacing rusting galvanized pipes, upgrading electrical fixtures, replacing at least one of the two elevators, and providing medical gas piping. 
August 17, 2008
The Prime Minister of Nepal, Prachandra, and over 500 others attended the dedication of the new Maternity Wing, funded by Jim and Marilyn Simons in memory of their son Nick. It was Prachandra's first public appearance after being elected two days earlier. By the standards of a poor country the new wing is a wonderful facility. Unlike the rest of the hospital, much of the building is heated. To save on operating costs, this is being done by a state-of-the-art solar heating system. The new wing, besides adding 150 beds to the hospital, contains two operating rooms, an auditorium, meeting rooms and a library. The building is well lighted and relatively spacious. Steve Brooks of OZ architecture, an FOPH supporter, assisted the Nepali architects.
May 1, 2008 Resources in Hand to Furnish and Equip the New Wing
November 20, 2007 Patan Hospital Celebrates 25th Anniversary
Patan Hospital had a large celebration on November 7 to mark the 25th Anniversary of its founding. Over 800 people, including the Prime Minister of Nepal, attended the celebration. The contribution that Friends of Patan Hospital makes to the hospital was recognized when Dr.James Hecht, the Chairman of FOPH, was one of the two people honored with a citation and bronze statuette presented by the Prime Minister. Jim views this honor as one shared by all those who have supported FOPH in any way. Jim and Marilyn Simons, the donors of the new Maternity Wing, also attended the celebration. Marilyn told the assembled group a personal story worth repeating. Some years ago when she and Jim were vacationing in Maine they went out into the ocean in a small boat with Jim's daughter and son. They beached the boat on the sand of a small uninhabitated island which they then explored. When they returned, they found that the tide had gone out and, in order to be able to get back into the ocean, they would have to lift the boat and carry it to where the surf now was. With a great effort by everyone, they were just able to do it. Jim's daughter, who was then 16, small and not very strong, then exclaimed, "It took all of us working together to be able to do it." The Simons recognize that their donations through FOPH are dominant in its fundraising efforts, but that the support of others -- not necessarily financial -- makes a huge difference. They are encouraging such support by matching all funds donated to FOPH by others. October 1, 2007 Construction of New Maternity Wing Proceding Construction of the new 140-bed maternity wing, made possible by the generous donation of Dr. Jim Simons and Dr. Marilyn Simons in memory of their son who died in an accident, is now scheduled to be completed in April, 2008 -- 6 months later than the original target date established two years ago. Given the unstable political climate in the country since then, the delay is not unexpected. With approved upgrades such as an extra floor for an education wing and an energy-efficient heating system, the projected cost of the project is about $3.4 million June 4, 2007 FOPH Assisting in Establishing PICU/NICU Units at Patan Hospital The new maternity wing provides the opportunity for establishing intensive care units for children and new-born babies. These will be the first such units in Nepal. A team to assist the hospital in this undertaking is being formed under the leadership of Dr. Sangita Basnet of Springfield, Illinois and Michele Avila-Emerson of Fresno, California, a nurse practioner. This team is seeking equipment for the two units, each of which will have 6 beds. Startup is scheduled for mid 2009 and the team will spend time then at Patan Hospital training the staff. May 14, 2007 Patan Hospital Nursing Director Visits U.S. Ram Shova Risal, the Director of Nursing at Patan Hospital, spent almost a month in April and early May visiting the United States to learn about U.S. methods of hospital administration and nursing practices that might be useful in Nepal. FOPH paid all costs of the trip and FOPH supporters arranged a busy schedule in Washington, DC, the Philadelphia area and California. While in Washington, Ram Shova attended the annual meeting of the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) which gave her a full scholarship for the conference and a pre-conference workshop. She also visited Sibley Memorial Hospital. In the Philadelphia area she was hosted by the nursing schools at the University of Pennsylvania, Villanova, Temple and Thomas Jefferson and the hospitals associated with them. In California she visited hospitals associated with Stanford University and then went to Fresno where she visited two other hospitals -- one of which was a Children's Hospital. She also gave several presentations which brought home the compassionate care given at Patan Hospital, but also the disparity of health-care resources between the U.S. and Nepal. April 3, 2007 GE & Children's Hospital (Boston) Make Donations The General Electric Company has donated $50,000 of equipment for the new maternity wing. The equipment is new and current technology. GE provided shipping of the equipment as well as training of personnel to use it. The equipment consists of an ultrasound unit, a CarePlus incubator, a Corometrics fetal monitor and a Dash 4000 patient monitor. Each of these fills an important need. The donation from Children's Hospital in Boston consists of 16 ICU monitors and 13 infusion pumps. All of this equipment is fairly new and in excellent condition. Children's Hospital covered the cost of packing and shipping this equipment to Project C.U.R.E. which will send it in the next shipping container to Patan Hospital. This gift was arranged by Dr. George Taylor, a renowned radiologist at the Harvard Medical School. |
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The major goal of FOPH in the past 18 months has been to be able to furnish and equip the new wing since this was not part of the grant from the Simons. During this period many items have been secured by donations including beds, furnishings and medical equipment. Recently, hospital staff compiled a list of items badly needed which had not been donated and found these could be purchased for $938,500. FOPH was able to supply $100,000 of this amount and Jim and Marilyn Simons then generously offered to donate the remaining $838,500. Thanks to the generosity of the Simons and many other donors, the new wing will be able to provide an unprecedented level of service to the people of Nepal.