Compassionate hearts from Adventist Midwest Health (AMH) recently helped provide needed medical care in Ghana, West Africa, where people die from treatable illnesses because there is little medicine and not enough healthcare workers to serve their needs.
David Calandra, a cardiovascular surgeon on the medical staff of Adventist Hinsdale Hospital and Adventist La Grange Memorial Hospital, led the medical team. He was accompanied by his wife Marcie, a nurse; and daughter Ashley, a student nurse. The other medical team members were nurses Claudia Andersson, Rebecca Baker, Suzan Barreiros, Sheila Lewis, and Alicia Ramos. Also AMH nurses Kathleen Petersen, Vida Reid, and Linda Main each spent a day with the medical team.
“Our team members were fantastic. They did what they could and more. When we arrived, we visited the government hospital and learned what the needs were. It was evident we could make a difference in their lives,” he said.
“Our team supported staff at clinics, assisting with more than 500 outpatient visits in four of the six different hospital settings we visited. The Ghanian system provides one physician for each hospital. One facility was operated by a husband and wife team of American Adventist missionary physicians.
“The AMH team delivered babies, treated a gunshot wound, and diagnosed patients with malaria, hypertension, diabetes, thyroid, and prostate cancer,” David said. While the conditions left a lot to be desired, the rewards of helping and caring for a patient remained the same.
David performed an abdominal hernia operation, with a desk light illuminating the site. “We saw cases of typhoid fever, retro virus, and Buruli ulcers. We didn’t see anyone with breast cancer or lung cancer.”
He noted that Ghana has only three percent of its population infected with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). “That’s a result of their Christian beliefs and monogamous relationships, as well as a widespread media campaign and education in the schools about the disease.” He said testing only includes hemoglobin, malaria, or pregnancy. They do not have X-ray or ultrasound available.
Marcie Calandra coordinated efforts to offer CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation) and Heimlich maneuver training at six hospitals and an Adventist nursing school. Approximately 30 participants received training at each site.
“Five out of six hospitals we visited were Adventist hospitals,” said Marcie Calandra, R.N. "The impact of the worldwide caring of the Adventists was evident in the healthcare delivery and care of people in Ghana,” Marcie added.
“Our medical team also provided approximately 800 blood pressure screenings at the evening evangelism meetings and found many with severe hypertension. We referred about 30 percent for follow-up care at the clinic,” said David.
“We also gave eye exams, blood pressure checks, and other exams to about 200 students and staff at the Adventist school. About 30 of them were referred to the clinic for follow-up care,” David noted. An additional lecture on adolescent women’s health attracted 600 students and faculty members.
This was the second medical mission David was involved with. “Conditions in Third World countries vary only in degrees of poverty,” he said. “Water and nutrition are issues and the routine control of infection, including HIV.... The people we saw in Ghana had adequate nutrition. They can go into the jungle and get food, such as yams and bananas, growing wild.”
David noted, “They were a happy, friendly people and very Christ-centered. They would say ‘peace be with you’ or ‘God bless you’ in passing.
“When patients are admitted to a non-Adventist hospital, they must pay the daily fee or stay there until their family can pay the bill. They must purchase their own medicines from the dispensary, and their families must provide food for them or they don’t eat.
“Our medical team paid the bill of an elderly woman with HIV [who] didn’t have the finances to go home. When the family realized what we had done, they were grateful to us, but they gave thanks to God and pointed to the sky,” said David. “We afforded her the dignity to go home and die at peace with her family around her.
“I tell my colleagues the hearts of all races beat the same. We just live in different worlds.” Mission trips provide another way to extend the healing ministry of Christ.
Lynn Larson, Adventist Midwest Health public relations specialist
