Medical Services

We are beginning the journey to launch a new type of medical mission! It is an empowering, community building approach to healthcare.

The Medical Mission

Our first project will be to build a clinic in Kyamosongi, Uganda, (near Fort Portal). As we move forward, three values will remain constant in all that we undertake:

1. Build a medical service that is GOD centered

2. Ensure that any mission trip has a lasting presence

3. Empower those we serve

Combining the principles of multiple programs we will establish a medical mission with the following emphasis:

1. Engage the community and determine what their needs are from their perspective.

2. Hire locals to build and ensure the construction is sustainable (i.e. solar).

3. Employ locals and provide instruction for them to become community practitioners (modeling the Alaska Community Health Aide Program).

4. Partner with local universities to provide credit for the on the job clinical training.

5. Teach locals how to be primary care providers, give them the skills to function well, and support them.

6. Send periodic Medical Mission Teams.

7. Continue to support the community practitioners via telehealth, ongoing indefinitely. This support would include daily “medical traffic” whereby a clinical expert from the United States reviews cases with the health workers and guides treatment.

8. Support the local economy wherever possible. Buy local, integrate services within the local area and develop medical partnerships.

Here We Gooooo!

In June, 2018 a small team will be traveling to Uganda to begin laying the groundwork for this effort. Some of the items on this first trip will include:

A. Further our relationship with the district health officer in the building of our first level III clinic.

B. Take the necessary steps to begin to develop the land, obtain proper permits, etc.

C. Meet with local educational institutions for potential partnerships.

D. Meet with the regional hospital and other local clinics to set up referral patterns and potential partnerships.

E. Visit with other medial mission clinics, learn from them.

F. Host a community meeting, explore what would be useful for a clinic in the area.

Future Medical Mission Trips!!! Are YOU excited!?!?

There will be many more opportunities to serve and we are looking for volunteers! We will be setting firm mission dates when we return from our exploration trip in June and are tentatively looking at the following months for our upcoming mission trips:

September/October 2018 – Construction mission, (build the clinic – and modified medical mission).
January/February 2019 – Medical Mission
July/August 2019 – Medical Mission

The focus of these teams is to instruct community health workers with a hands on clinical teaching approach. Teams will be multi-disciplinary. Community health workers will need to know how to take x-rays, perform labs, reconstitute medications, etc.

Medical mission team members will raise funds to cover their mission expenses as well as a portion of ongoing salaries of the community workers. Team members don’t just sign up for their time on the ground in Uganda. When they sign up for a mission with us they are agreeing to support the clinic for a minimum commitment of at least 5 additional days (2 hours per day max) of “medical traffic”.

Mission trips are approximately 10 – 14 days. Details would be similar to our Adventure Mission trips, with the addition of raising funds for ongoing clinic support and of course having a more intensive and focused mission related to medical service. As with our Adventure Missions, we also build in a day of rest and seeing a bit of the country of Uganda into every team.

Interested in joining us? Give us a shout!