3 Month Volunteer Internship at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Moshi Tanzania.

Описание: When searching for a Masters Degree to pursue, I found MSc. In Critical Care in the Remote and Austere Environment through a non profit school called COROM. it was through this degree that connected me to KCMC landing me an internship for a length of my choosing at KCMC. I choose a 3 month attachment to the Emergency Room Department.

Throughout this adventure and exposure to the hospital system in Tanzania I have fallen in love with the culture and the strength of the African people. As a health care professional I also admire the health care staff that work tiressly providing the best care they can with the resources they have. I am also empathetic and grateful to experience the challenges the staff and patients have working in a system where you need to consider the financial cost of every task you do for the patient to ensure they can afford it.

"KCMC is a referral hospital which was established in order to serve the northern, eastern and central zone of Tanzania. Its record in Medical Services, Research, and Education has significant influence in East Africa and beyond."
It is a goverment hospital owned by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT) under the Good Samaritan Foundation (GSF). - “To reflect Christ’s character of love, mercy, compassion and faithfulness in the course of fulfilling the call to care and heal the sick” http://www.kcmc.ac.tz/about


About the Tanzania Health Care System:

"Tanzania is a resource strained country with a weak healthcare system which is challenged by high maternal mortality, child mortality, HIV/AIDS, pneumonia, and malaria. Tanzania’s population also has some of the lowest rates of access to health personnel in the world. Over 60% of Tanzania healthcare facilities are run by the government with the rest being either faith-based or private."
" The government has called upon investors to establish pharmaceutical factories within the country. Health supplies, commodities and equipment comprise a significant portion of the pharmaceutical domestic development budget. However, firms operating locally will face several challenges such as need for
skilled human resources, availability of modern technology and the ability to reach sufficient scale to compete with international suppliers."

" Healthcare financing is complimented by international donors who contribute up to 40% of the health budget.  The US government, through USAID and CDC, contribute significantly to programs that assist the Tanzania government. Health insurance coverage is still low with only 32% of Tanzanians as of 2019 covered by health insurance.  Of that number, only 1% are members of private health insurance."

*** At the goverment funded hospitals patients without health insurance must pay for each item of service such the initial consultation fee, lab work, ecg, mri, CT, X ray, hospital overnight stays. Additionally something as simple as checking blood gasses on an intubated patient is nearly impossible to do every 20 min as it's $60,000 per check - something most Tanzanians could not afford.

If the patients have no health care and are living in extreme poverty and their family is also living in poverty they may seek "exemption" from the hospitals social worker program which will cover costs. However for chronic illnesses such as dialysis this may only cover a few treatments before the family is left out of options. ****

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