Team Updates

“It is the responsibility, yet the individual choice, of each of us to use the light we have to dispel the work of darkness because if we do not, then the power of falsehood rises.” ~John Lewis, Across That Bridge.

All teams set their hearts, hands, and minds to making the most of our final two days at Leyaata Hospital.

On Wednesday morning, Leyaata’s lab manager, Moses, gave a challenging devotion from Mark 5:25-31 about never giving up. It was his birthday, and we found him the perfect gift. The team’s blood donations topped up his blood bank.

We were invited to “chill” with David Mensah on Wednesday evening at his home, and he welcomed us with fresh lemonade from his lemon tree. Colourful party snacks included fried mushrooms, beef shish kabobs with green pepper, plantain chips, “Kele Wele,” and fruit salad with a ginger sauce. We enjoyed listening to captivating stories of David’s first journey to Canada (during Ghana’s coup d’état) to pursue his education. He then shared how he met and fell in love with Brenda while working weekends on the Paisley farm in Stouffville. Those who want to read more should purchase his book, Kwabena: An African Boy’s Journey of Faith.

All our mentorship programs wrapped up so well. The ER team concluded by co-caring for many serious patients, including three poisonous snake bites in 24 hours. Every case, including jaw dislocations, strokes, pneumothoraces, and fractures, provided opportunities to apply new knowledge and implement new processes.

We were thankful that the Leyaata Eye Clinic was so accessible and well-equipped when one of our team members, quickly followed by a Leyaata team member, had an unexpected rise in eye pressure. Treating colleagues can be stressful, but both underwent successful emergency laser surgery in the clinic.

Our surgical and anesthesia program wrapped up with 90 surgeries in 9 days. In addition to hernia surgeries, the team was able to slip in some emergency cases as well. As Mr. Hicks said, “Each surgery is a vehicle for process,” and by Thursday evening, that process was solidly in place. When a surgical emergency came through the ER late that night, the Ghanaian team suggested their UK partners could return to bed because they felt equipped and confident to handle the case independently. What a way for Rob, Karen, Nicky, and Ebenezer (celebrating his 10th wedding anniversary in Ghana) to end their mission.

Our education programs concluded with a graduation ceremony under the Leyaata Gazebo, where each successful participant received a certificate from Dr. David Mensah and the course instructors. Dr. Anne and I were particularly proud to pass the baton to seven Leyaata midwives who are now certified trainers in the Helping Babies Survive program. As the staff proudly rose to accept their diplomas to the enthusiastic cheers of their peers, I was reminded of a quotation by Nelson Mandela: “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” The hospital staff and our Ghana Health Partners then gathered for a large group photo on the front steps of Leyaata to mark this foundational partnership event. I can’t wait for you to see this special photo when it is released.

The Last Supper was symbolic and emotional as we reflected aloud on our gratitude for one another and how we will remember one another. Although we received thanks for so much, we reminded our Ghanaian colleagues that we receive more than we give. Team veterans noted how their lives and the lives of their families have been profoundly and permanently impacted by the influence of our partners in Ghana — their way of life, their faith, and the lessons we have learned. David Mensah explained that while they have little to give us, they have something better. They have God — and so he prayed God would bless us and our families richly and with long life for the contribution made over the past two weeks. All noted the mutual respect, reciprocity, and depth of relationships in that room.

As I return to the South and hear news of world events, I’m once again reminded of the degree of global suffering and darkness in our world. Yet, as one of my global health mentors often reminds me, “Light always finds a way to shine.” With this, I want to thank my team members for taking on the responsibility and using the light they carry to find a way to shine. Leyaata and NEA are like a beacon — dispelling the darkness of poverty, food insecurity, gender inequity, conflict, injustice, and preventable deaths in Northern Ghana. Despite many challenges and being pushed way outside our comfort zones, adding our light to theirs has been an honour and privilege. We will return home different than when we arrived.

To all our friends, family, colleagues, and supporters who made it possible for us to be here and do our part in changing a turmoil-wracked world, we thank you for your sacrifices and look forward to sweet reunions on home soil very soon.

Gift of Life

When a Caramilk bar from the freezer suddenly appears after two weeks without chocolate!

Midwives teaching midwives

Shout out to colleague “Dr. Annie” who makes co-teaching an absolute joy!

Dr. Carlye proudly holding the new Leyaata ER stroke protocol.

GQ Ghana

Jane and Nicky’s new skirts

CASTED Graduation

LTEP Graduation

Biomed and Leadership Partners

Anaesthesia Partners

Diagnostic Imaging Partners

Hernia International Carpenter Partners

Rehab Partners

Pharmacy Partners

Eye Team Partners

Dental Partners

Surgical Partners

CASTED Training

Canadian Nursing Team

Joyful Midwives

It always comes to an end too fast.

Thank you Dr. Mensah for our Friendship bracelets!

Signing off for November 2023!

DISCLAIMER: This content is intended as updates shared to Ghana Health Partners’ Team Updates subscribers only and should not be shared with anyone. 

He’d been suffering for four years with a surgical condition that was untreatable in Ghana. His family was beyond desperate when they arrived at Leyaata Hospital. Attempting this surgery at Leyaata was a difficult decision to make—it would require all of our collective surgical, anesthesia, and nursing resources for an entire day. Other patients would need to be postponed. Was it worth taking this risk and devoting many resources to one person?

When we came to Ghana to run our mission from 2007-2019, Dr. Kyle’s dental clinic was held under a mango tree while cattle grazed around him. Dr. Martin’s eye clinic was in a peanut storage facility in a cough-inducing, rash-producing sauna. Our emergency department was a classroom in a village school. Mr. Rob’s theatre was a multipurpose building on the NEA compound that became a surgical center once a year. We treasured every moment of those missions and their impact on the region while we collectively dreamed of sustainability.

Today, I stepped into Leyaata Dental Clinic. I saw Dr. Kyle, Dr. Garrett, and Leyaata’s dental professional, Ella, hard at work in their multi-room, air-conditioned facility with two beautiful dental suites with X-ray capability. Wasn’t it just yesterday that Garrett was a university student volunteer on our dental team? How is he now a qualified dentist at Leyaata, working alongside Kyle and Ella on a complex dental case that took the team two hours to complete?

Tears filled my eyes when I toured the Eye Clinic today, and goosebumps covered my sweaty arms. Dan (our Optometric Assistant up for promotion) toured me through the facility as our three optometrists, Dr. Martin, Dr. Stephen, and Dr. Josh, were consulting with patients. (So glad Stephen returned to work after being locked in the bathroom for an hour, unbeknownst to his teammates.) The rooms were full of state-of-the-art equipment, including the laser for glaucoma treatment and an electronic automated phoropter that was more sophisticated than anything I’ve seen in Canada. They had some technical/electrical challenges, but our busy Biomed Team of Daniel and Charles (who call each other “Boss”) handled it. Marion, the founder of our eye team in 2007, was hard at work with Prosper setting up the Leyaata Optical Shop — full of thousands of donated eyeglasses and sunglasses that are cataloged and entered into the Leyaata eyeglasses bank. I remember this team crawling out of the NEA peanut storage facility (otherwise fondly known as the “nut house”) at the end of their long, hot clinics for so many years. How is it that a few short years later, Leyaata is about to become an optical center of excellence?

Those who read my book Grant Us Tomorrow: A Medical Memoir by Wilson, Dr. Jennifer (amazon.ca) Blue Heron Books | Grant Us Tomorrow will know that our 11 Ghana Health Teams treated emergencies in school classrooms, gazebos, and roadsides. Today, I toured the ER where Dr. Carlye and our ER nurses Val, Jennifer, and Leslie are working tirelessly with the Leyaata ER team to help set up the physical building and then dive deep into Leyaata’s ER policies, procedures, and clinical pathways —offering their many years of ER experience to this young and keen Leyaata team. The place is incredible —organized storage rooms, a stocked and equipped trauma suite, a resuscitation room, a fracture clinic, and patient cubicles adorned with Leyaata curtains. The ER is ready to receive patients. I wonder what the next major emergency that rolls through those doors will be.

Our training programs continue with intensity. Monica and Jannine are now training the second cohort of LTEP students. Dr. Shmuel, with assistance from Dr. Carlye and our rehab team of Ellen and Jodi, has spent every evening teaching the medical staff how to manage and cast fractures. This evening, Dr. Shmuel invited our X-ray technician, Kelly, to present a short lecture on essential things to consider when choosing what X-ray to order. She did such an incredible job that we are booking her to deliver the same talk to our physicians at home!

Thursday, Dr. Anne and I launched our training in the maternity department. In February, we had the honour of teaching the midwifery team two courses on Helping Babies Breathe and Essential Care for Every Baby. Today, we are training them to teach these courses and have had the privilege of cheering them on as they begin teaching the courses to the four new Leyaata midwives. Chief Midwifery Officer Doris exclaimed, “Our crying and sorrow is over because the joy of a midwife is to save babies!” At one point, Dr.

Mensah and his brother Chief Joseph popped into our training and, with Anne and I sitting off to the side grinning (and maybe crying) like proud mothers, the midwifery team expertly ran a simulation on how they would save a baby who is not breathing at birth. Dr. David and Chief Joseph reflected on how many babies they have seen die for lack of this training. The midwifery team has a solid vision to take the training to the small community clinics and scale up across the region. How many babies and mothers will be saved through the efforts of Leyaata Hospital and these midwives?

This evening, our pharmacy team of Amanda, Linda, and Sherry (we call them Big Pharma) are educating the entire staff on the responsible use of antibiotics to combat the growing and deadly problem of antibiotic resistance. I’ve been reflecting on the hundreds of hockey bags of drugs we used to pack and bring to Ghana for our mission every year. Now, we walk into the stocked Leyaata pharmacy that is taking an important leadership role in this hospital and the region. Amanda, Sherry, and Linda dream of opening an outpatient pharmacy to serve the community and generate income for the hospital. I wonder when those doors will open its doors? How quickly could we pull together a fundraising campaign to build it?

Many of my reflections and questions were answered by Ernestina’s devotional Thursday morning, which she entitled “Against All Odds.” This dear woman, who has worked beside me since I stepped foot in Ghana in 2007 and is now the Leyaata Matron, reminded us that God has orchestrated for each one of us to arrive in Ghana against all odds and for a particular purpose— maybe even for one person — like the dental patient who required two hours and three dentists to help him, or the surgical patient requiring a six-hour surgery and two hours of intensive care. “Mr. Hicks and his team came to Ghana against all odds for one man. If I never remember anything else, I will always remember that man and his wife, who are no longer suffering.” Ernestina concluded.

I agree with Ernestina that there is undoubtedly a divine orchestration behind all of this, and we are very proud Leyaata partners who are wholeheartedly excited about what is happening in this place and about what is about to happen next — against all odds. Take a look at us now! (For the Phil Collins fans in the group).

Until next week….

Practising casting on Abraham, Leyaata’s Administrator!

Ultrasonographer Jane is joyfully transferring skills to the midwife team as she teaches them how to confirm the position and heart beat of babies in the antenatal clinic.

Midwife Thecla teaching Helping Babies Breathe

Chief Midwifery Officer Doris setting up a neonatal resuscitation simulation.

Dr. Annie, as she is fondly called, is sporting a new look.

Helping Babies Breathe Training

Eye Team enjoying the new electronic automated phoropter.

Josh and Issa

Marion working on the eyeglass database.

Prosper’s Optical Dispensary

Radiographer Kelly giving a fantastic guest lecture to the CASTED participants.

Dr. Josh and Dr. Martin and their “precious” (the laser).

Leyaata midwives after performing a simulated resuscitation in front of Dr. Mensah and Chief Joseph of Yaara village.

Fresh fried snapper and plantain, beans, salad and pineapple.

Leaf Bug

GRID & NEA IMPACT UPDATES (NOVEMBER 2023)

DISCLAIMER: This content is intended as updates shared to Ghana Health Partners’ Team Updates subscribers only and should not be shared with anyone. 

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As is the custom here at NEA and Leyaata, the staff gather together every morning under the Noah Ampen Gazebo for a short Bible lesson and prayer before the work day begins.

Morning Devotions

Dr. David Mensah was the speaker on Monday morning, and he warned us that he needed extra time to speak because “We want to start well!” he proclaimed. The Bible reading was from Ruth 1:8-18, and it was read in English, Twi, and then translated to Hebrew by our teammate Dr. Shmuel Yablonsky.

Dr. Shmuel Yablonsky reading Scriptures in Hebrew

Dr. David Mensah, the master orator, used this story to inspire us all to be people like Ruth, who refuse to let life’s difficulties or pleasant distractions cause us to veer off track from helping humanity.

Usually, it takes a couple of days for our GHP to settle in, get their feet under them, and begin the work. That is not the case with this team. All systems go with our teaching, training, and service as we fall into the familiar rhythms of this partnership built on a foundation of deep friendship, respect, trust, and shared vision.

I’m certain I have the best job in the world as I circulate around this sprawling facility and see our partnership teams huddling everywhere —strategizing, planning, listening, addressing obstacles, and delivering.

Amanda and me making morning announcements

Eye Team Huddle

Nursing Huddle

Rehab Huddle

Post-Op Care Huddle

Diagnostic Imaging Huddle in the Control Room

Neglected Tropical Disease Huddle

Dr. Carlye and ER nurse Charles

Isabella shadowing in Pharmacy

Isabella looking at malaria parasites

There is a lot of laughter and a lot of sweat (well, except for some who enjoy working in A/C, but I won’t name names now, will I?).

Surgical Partners

Surgical Team

Surgeries are underway!

When I popped into the dental clinic this morning, our Leyaata Dental Team was following up with a Leyaata staff member who had a dental emergency on Monday. “Yesterday, I was suffering. Today, I can eat again,” he told me while permitting me to share his story and this picture.

Dental team with Samuel who received emergency care on Monday

A large power outage affected our residence Monday night, leaving us without light, fans, and water. It reminded me so much of our early years in Ghana when we didn’t have the luxuries that NEA generously provides us with now —”the good ol’ days” when the headlamps went on at sunset, bucket baths were taken under the stars, and there was no cell or wi-fi. I think it is good for us to go without these things from time to time.

Due to strict privacy regulations that Leyaata Hospital must adhere to, I cannot share details of patient stories. Still, I will share photos of our teaching and training with permission from course participants.

Leyaata Trauma and Emergency Pediatric (LTEP) Course

LTEP Training

LTEP Training

LTEP Training with Ernestina overseeing

Trauma Simulations

Trauma Simulations

Our dear colleague Ernestina leading the staff in a song during a break from emergency training

Leyaata’s vision is crystal clear — to become a leading model hospital in quality patient care and the best Christian health care centre preferred in Ghana and Africa. We have started very well and pray for health and strength to stay focused on this vision and give Leyaata our best selves for the next two weeks.

This is the stunning Leyaata fabric which is used to make uniforms and curtains within the hospital.

DISCLAIMER: This content is intended as updates shared to Ghana Health Partners’ Team Updates subscribers only and should not be shared with anyone.