Marj Ratel in Ghana – Blog Post 8
Danny, Marj, President Mills, Jocelyne and Seth
Our week began with Jocelyne preparing to complete her report of the state of affairs of the KBTH Radiology Dept. She will deliver her report on Friday, prior to her departure home. We certainly trust that this report will be a driving force behind radiology advancements and expansion.
I am continuing to pursue various documentation developments and almost have the neurovital sign record ready to go. I will be visiting the National Cardiothoracic Unit with the Director of Nursing, Mrs. Victoria Quaye, as we review their documentation system. The goal is to make this a common system for the region.
Danny, Jocelyne and I, along with Rev. Prof. Seth Ayettey, met with President Mills in the afternoon. It was a rewarding time, recalling lovely memories of his stay in Vancouver in 2001. He recalled all of the beds that were being packed in containers, while he was there. I gave him warm greetings from our members, and especially Felix Durity. We reviewed various developments, including the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital Emergency and Clinical Services Centre project along with equipment/radiology issues and the establishment of the neuroscience research program. President Mills appreciates the efforts of KBNF on behalf of Ghana and is very pleased to extend his support to various endeavours, including visiting Canada to raise awareness of our partnership and neuroscience health care advancements. Danny shared about Dare to Dream – Dare to Do and Heart Power seminars being well received in Accra. He is speaking to 100 Electric Company Directors Tuesday, giving them the four-hour Heart Power presentation. They desire to transform their culture of customer service and Danny’s workshop will be a perfect match for their goals. We trust this will open many doors for other opportunities in the Ghanaian corporate world. Official photos were taken after our visit and we left the castle rewarded by the sense of family that continues to grow between our two countries.
We visited the National Arts Centre where Ghanaian arts and crafts are sold. This was our second trip this visit and Danny is making life-long friendships and partnerships. He was teaching various artisans the art of selling with an edge, offering something unique with each product. The sellers were so touched, as they shared that never do customers offer wise advice to them. Danny refused to barter and instead, taught them to offer their best price only = what would be a win for them considering the time and effort given to an item. Danny particularly blessed Emmanuel, one delightful carver, and a beautiful friendship has begun. We made a few purchases for family, friends and supporters at home, and Danny is now the proud owner of the signed and first numbered edition carved Lion bookends. The numbered edition concept was taught by Danny and it’s taking off now in the market.
Tuesday continues to be a full working day at the hospital. We are expecting to visit Provost Lawson, physicians and staff, along with others in the community. Danny heads to Kumasi with Derek Agyapong-Poku on Wednesday, to speak to the staff of Essie and her family’s local hotel as well as others in the community. Don Jenion will chair a project management meeting in the afternoon Ghana time, so more members will be on Skype from Ghana than from Canada! Seth Ayettey and Aaron Lawson will be leaving for Israel in the next couple of weeks, as they review Israeli expertise in hospital construction. The College of Health Sciences hospital design will be presented this month, and they expect construction to commence in September.
Report on Ghana Hospitals
Dr. John Sampson, President, DrUMM, KBNF’s American affiliate, and a team of experts travelled throughout Ghana to the nation’s Intensive Care Units (ICUs) in Tamale, Kumasi, Cape Coast, and Accra (37 Military and Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital). The team researched each ICU’s physical infrastructure; human, educational, equipment, and biomedical resources; health care delivery capabilities; and research partnership potential.
I learned that ventilators, while still in significant need, are more plentiful in the central and north region, particularly as valuable funding has arisen from football association sponsorships. For example, the Tamale Teaching Hospital’s ICU has eight fully functional 2009 model ventilators. Their intensivist, a Fundamental Critical Care Course graduate and instructor candidate, is passionate about his life work and is eager to partner with DrUMM and KBNF in advancing their unit’s standards and protocols to full North American status. I learned that they have a visiting Ghanaian neurosurgeon that comes occasionally; unfortunately many tragically die because the basic neurosurgery to remove a subdural epidural hematoma, for example, is not available to them when they need it. It is my understanding that the Government of Ghana is planning construction of a new North American standard hospital to serve the north Ghana region as well as the neighbouring nations. KBNF Project Management is pleased to support this development in the months ahead.
Kumasi’s regional teaching hospital, Komfo Anokye, has two distinctive structural sections, old and new. I had the privilege of touring Komfo Anokye’s newest hospital facilities, including the ICU and Burn Unit. It was gratifying to see quality IV pumps attached to the wall at each bedside and ventilators available for use. The unit contained a well organized and moderately stocked Code Cart, spaciousness around patient beds, quality nursing stations with central monitoring, ample supply and dirty service areas, and private rooms for all the burn and infectious patients. It was gratifying to observe the quality effort put into painting the units and hallways in pleasing patterns to lighten up the environment.
John and his team visited 37 Military Hospital’s ICU and learned that beyond their immediate ICU care delivery, they have a plan in place for a national disaster response with a unit at the ready with fully stocked beds and ventilators. A visit to the Cape Coast Hospital reinforced the eagerness of ICU directors and staff in Ghana of the desire for education and tangible support.
Spending time touring the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital’s (KBTH) Surgical Block ICU, OR and Neuro Unit, my 4th visit since 2002 revealed many urgent patient, staff, equipment, and biomedical resource needs. I had the opportunity to tour the neurosurgery unit and take photos for our project manager. It was gratifying to see our VGH beds in full use everywhere I looked. They appeared to be in good condition for the most part. The unit’s treatment room was nicely retiled. The plumbing is not working in many cases. Oxygen is available through wall apparatus. Unfortunately, suction equipment is in desperate need of repair. There was not one wall suction unit working in the Surgical Block nursing units while I was there. One portable suction was being shared among six floors and I believe that it was also malfunctioning. You can imagine that patients needing suctioning are at serious risk. We must help change this. Humidity and heat have been destructive. Rust and deterioration of windows and walls is palpable. Mosquito nets are now necessary over the paediatric beds. I learned that the resources for hospital maintenance have been insufficient and the administrators are working feverishly to restructure how they collaborate between services and units to maximize when and how support and funds are utilized.
Our team, along with Builders without Borders (Canada), is eager to partner with KBTH to renovate the entire neurosurgery floor. This would be the template of a North American standard nursing unit and hopefully be replicated throughout the building. It is anticipated that once the neurosurgery unit relocates to the new Emergency and Clinical Specialties Centre, the Surgical Block will continue to house patients for decades to come. There is a passionate desire by the staff to overcome these challenges. Amplified funding support along with interdepartmental and international collaboration is critically needed and is an area that KBNF can help KBTH develop.
2011 President’s Message
Danny Moe, an international motivational speaker and my brother, has been profoundly impacting many lives in his KBNF Dare to Dream Academy seminars of recent months. He teaches that Mission, Vision, Passion are core values mutually and concurrently required for achieving ultimate significance in life. Mission – Everyone born is born on purpose and it’s beautiful, but we’re not only born ON purpose but FOR A purpose. To determine our purpose, it is really important to know our gifts. It is our gifts that will help confirm our purpose and vice versa. Beyond that, our gifts are so phenomenal that they are not for us to keep but are gifted to us to serve the people who need our gifts. That is what our Mission is all about. There are people who will never be what they should be in life without our gifts.
Our Vision is our seeing what is in our spirit and our heart. We can’t visualize what we have not already determined. We have to begin to see it, to visualize it – seeing the end from the beginning. The only way we can keep encouraged and make it through the problems is to see the end like we have already arrived. Whatever our dream is, when it actually happens, it will be bigger and better than what we ever dreamed. And that’s what we want. We want to live with Passion. When it comes to work, we want to WORK our passions.
These qualities emanate from our KBNF family. KBNF was established out of a need FOR a specific purpose and our mission is our project assignment. Why neuroscience? Because that is our gifting. KBNF’s mission expanded when the concept of building a neuroscience centre of excellence for Ghana and West Africa at Korle-Bu on donated land was suggested by Provost Seth Ayettey in 2002. This was our inaugural trip and it instantly witnessed with my spirit that this was what we were to do all along. From that moment in time, we have never looked back. Challenges, some seemingly insurmountable, have come our way, but our vision for what will be on the campus of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital has not wavered. In fact, it has broadened and widened, as the concept, master plan and program of a West African regional Emergency and Clinical Specialties Centre, hotel and conference centre has evolved into being by our multinational Project Management [PM] team.
Our passion for a world-class centre gripped the hearts and imaginations of our Ghanaian leaders and fully embracing it, they took their rightful role in pursuing major funding for the $450 million facility. But not only for Korle-Bu, the significance of our now mutual vision meant that another hospital center and schools at the University of Ghana College of Health Sciences site needed to be planned for and our team again had the wonderful opportunity to birth that concept. The President of Ghana broke ground on that site earlier this year. Don Jenion, KBNF Project Manager and a visionary, is recommending that a national master plan and program for all hospital developments be considered for viability, sustainability, and collaboration of resources and is offering KBNF project management support. And this is just one of our foundation objectives.
Don and his team – along with Builders without Borders – are in preplanning for the refurbishment of the current KBNF neurosurgery unit in the Surgical Block. The need is so great and the unit will continue to be used for patients once neuroscience relocates. Initially planning to repair walls, plumbing and electricity, we are now contemplating total renovations and redevelopment of the unit as a tangible example of North American standard design, efficiency, and safety. And not just the structure, but to also restore the beds, tables and equipment chairs that are in need of repair and a coat of fresh paint. The vision has gripped my heart for how it can set new standards, not just for neurosurgery but other nursing units as well. So as Don says, “we’re going for broke!” and a $300,000 fundraising campaign is beginning in earnest. Having decided on a direction, now we must find the solutions to achieve our vision. And we’re passionate about it.
With our limited budget over the years, how on earth have we been able to accomplish our many concomitant goals? The answer lies in the fact that we are rich in mission, vision and definitely passion within our membership and supremely rich in gifted human resources – you – our KBNF family. Ghana recognizes our genuineness, transparency and our altruistic desire to partner and support their infrastructure developments that will lead the continent of Africa on how to expertly deliver world-class sustainable care and demonstrate to potential investors that supporting health care developments CAN make a lasting difference.
We are only as strong as our members, and our members are passionate in their desire to advance the cause of health care in West Africa, whether in sending off a container lovingly filled with equipment and supplies to Nigeria while crossing fingers and toes and taking a leap of faith that it actually gets there . . .it does . . . Whether establishing the very first neuro research unit for West Africa and feeling fully alive when working on these various first of a kind developments, spending mammoth hours refining contact and donor lists and uploading to new software for launching an improved communications network or planning medical missions and neuro university program development . . . I could go on and on.
Mission + Vision with Passion has lead KBNF to achieve significance, as we partner with Ghana and West Africa. Jocelyne Lapointe, Brenda MacLeod and various volunteers spent laborious hours travelling back and forth to the Diamond Delivery warehouse collecting, categorizing and packing hospital supplies and equipment, then washing beds and furniture covered in soot from the open doors, wrapping in saran and with wonderful contributions donated by Compassionate Warehouse in Victoria, filling a 40 ft container. This incredible effort was the culmination of many unsung heroes behind the scenes. We learn that “the Chief Medical Director has been so elated about the shipment . . . There was so much for everybody. I haven’t seen so much joy here in a loooong while.”
To hear it in David Udoh’s own words, sole neurosurgeon for 12 million Nigerians:
To you, all the brothers and sisters at KBNF, all the volunteers and other wonderful people we may never meet – may the Lord whisper your name.
Meeting you and your kind of love so radically affected my life, my practice and my aspirations. I no longer wonder why the Lord brought me to this town. You are helping me to fulfill purpose. Indeed, you have all been to me like “Helpers of Destiny.”
May you find help in the time of need.
Ever thankful,
David
That one container is making a significant impact that is a source of encouragement for the staff, the administrators, patients and families. Our dreams in action – fulfilling a mission.
2011 Promotions Update
Our major corporate sponsor, Rick Diamond, owner of Diamond Delivery (DD), has been a steady supporter over the years. It doesn’t matter what is thrown at Rick, he just throws it back full throttle, wholly committed to success regardless of the commitment required. And he passionately gets the bigger picture. If his dear wife Sue had been ill IN Africa, she would have died. If Rick can help bring health care to Africans suffering with a neurological disorder, then most any effort is worthwhile. Meeting Rick Diamond for lunch (he paid) in mid August, we discussed our project priorities, including our critical need to advance to a new level in our communication and promotions proficiency so we could effectively fulfill the various urgently awaiting projects.
October Fundraising Events
Pursuing cutting edge new economy fundraising, Rick and I mused over various ways and means of raising funds. What would be cutting edge today? After chatting about how popular garage sales have become in the Fraser Valley, Rick determined that a giant garage sale would engage the Surrey community and raise much needed awareness. Amazing effort ensued by many members of Rick’s staff, some hired specifically for the events, to ensure that success was realised and the broader corporate community embraced our cause. Providing DD trucks for donation pick up, and housing the container at the Westwood lumbar Surrey site, along with holding the garage sale at DD Surrey warehouse, it made for an incredibly busy October.
The commencement to the weekend began with Rick Diamond and Brian Johal, owner of Westwood Lumbar Company sponsoring and hosting our first corporate luncheon. Included in the fundraiser was a luncheon attended by approximately 100 representatives from the Fraser Valley corporate community, Surrey municipality members, provincial legislators, a BC Lions football player, Miss BC Tara Teng (currently Miss Canada) and our very special guest, Dr. Sue Diamond, keynote speaker. Dr. Diamond pulled at the heartstrings of the audience as she shared her own story of neurological struggles and how our cause became a Diamond family cause several years ago. 100 balloons with gifts for sale, winter flower baskets, and a silent auction were followed by a massive garage sale the following day.
To pull off this mammoth effort required all hands on deck for weeks! Dozens of KBNF, Diamond Delivery, and Westwood Lumbar volunteers including the owners’ families and friends all pulled together to make the weekend a wonderful fundraiser. Many new valuable contacts were made and much networking has developed as a result. A TV interview with Fanny Kiefer, Shaw TV, was an offspring of the campaign raising the stature of our foundation further.
Our beautiful winter flower baskets were subsidized by a Fraser Valley garden centre. Containing perennials and annuals, the remainder have been converted into lovely spring flower baskets and are on sale now for Mother’s and Father’s Day. Much appreciation is extended to IGA Marketplace in Walnut Grove, a continual supporter of our cause. We held a weekend long basket sale at their site, as they set aside their own flowers in deference to ours. Unfortunately, part of the weekend was hit with monsoons and our volunteers braved the arctic winds and rain, being troopers for the cause. Our coin boxes continue to grace IGA counters and tangible support is faithfully given, for which we are so thankful.
KBNF Summer Missions
We anticipate a multi-focussed mission trip to Ghana in early August 2011. Medical missions to Ghana and for the first time to Liberia are in the works. For Ghana, KBNF is participating with the Ghanaian Physicians and Surgeons Association of America’s first CME Conference for West African physicians. We are providing neurosurgery, neurology and neuro-radiology education and training workshops. Concurrently, we are looking forward to facilitating neurology stroke and epilepsy teaching being taught by our KBNF neurologist for the medical students at the University of Ghana School of Medicine and with local physicians.
A research mission led by KBNF Research Chair, Lisa Cain and including representatives from partnering universities and institutes, in partnership with the College of Health Sciences Department of Anatomy, are anticipating the launch of the first Neuro Research Department for West Africa in that first week. KBNF Project Management Chair, Don Jenion, his team and Builders without Borders will work with KBTH in planning the anticipated renovation work fully funded by KBNF. Danny Moe, KBNF Motivational Speaker, will be speaking in many forums and churches, giving the gift of inspiration to Ghanaians while sharing of the mission of KBNF.
KBNF is in discussions with Dr. James Sirleaf, HEARTT, and KBNF neurosurgeon Dr. Estrada Bernard [Alaska] regarding holding a neurosurgery mission in Monrovia, Liberia the second week of August. We are pleased that Dr. Paul King, KBNF neurosurgeon (Atlanta) has been confirmed to the team and that DrUMM is also committed to this mission. We are considering expanding our mission to include volunteer dentists and perhaps a general surgeon to round out the mission mandate. Funding is a priority for mission expenses and to subsidize mission member’s trip expenses.
KBNF Academy
Danny Moe, VP, KBF, and an international motivational speaker par excellence, and I discussed how several of our KBNF members were looking for work and was there something we could do to help them? KBNF is founded on and values our volunteer family. When a member is hurting, then we all hurt. Danny subsequently prepared an inspirational Dare to Dream seminar and the eight attendees from that morning session received tremendous encouragement. Subsequently, we determined the importance of giving a gift to our KBNF family, friends, and potential supporters and Dare to Dream and Heart Power seminars were fully established.
Danny has now hosted events at Kwantlen University and the UBC / VGH Eye Care Centre auditorium and library. We have served waffles hot off the grill for lunch and we are encouraged by the response and new KBNF members joining as a result. Ultimately, however, the most precious moments are when our Academy members embrace life-changing principles. Danny now has a group of Academy members joining him on Skype from Accra, Ghana on a weekly basis. We anticipate on expansion, as we continue to group our alumni.
Conclusion
We are truly energized by the impact that we have had on health care and neurosurgical developments in Ghana and by the opportunities we have now to make a continued strategic and heartfelt impact. One area that we are advancing in is keeping our members and sponsors abreast of developments and news on a monthly basis. This is a work in progress, as we move toward regular mail outs. We are encouraged by the response we have had so far from our February/March fundraising letter and anticipate greater response as we devote more time to networking by personal phone calls, emails, and traditional mail.
We are pursuing funding for several sustainable and credible projects at hand. Our KBNF Family will indeed be critical to the realization of these objectives, as we continue this incredible journey . . . together.
