Systems Improvement at District Hospitals & Regional Training of Emergency Care (sidHARTe)-Rwanda I

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Investigator: Teri Reynolds, MD, MS, PhD
Sponsor: Columbia University

Location(s): Rwanda; Ghana

Description

Systems Improvement at District Hospitals and Regional Training of Emergency Care (sidHARTe) is a joint initiative between Columbia University and the Ministries of Health in Ghana and Rwanda. sidHARTe’s long-term goal is to improve emergency medical care in resource-limited settings in sub-Saharan Africa, starting at the district level.

The sidHARTe program at Kintampo Municipal Hospital started in January 2009. The hospital is located in the town of Kintampo and it is the only hospital serving the entire Kintampo district (population: 101,696). Kintampo is four hours drive from Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, one of two major tertiary referral centers in Ghana.

  • The hospital has 78 beds, including 21 beds in the maternity ward.
  • There is one full-time Ghanaian physician, with some part-time support from research doctors in the Pediatrics ward.
  • Malaria is by far the highest cause of admission, followed by anemia, pneumonia, typhoid, hernia, sepsis, gastroenteritis, “CD4,” snake bites and hypertension.
  • Kintampo sees an unusually high number of road traffic accidents due to its location along the Kumasi-Tamale highway, one of the busiest thoroughfares in Ghana.
  • The emergency ward has 9 beds.
  • Total ward staff consists of 1 medical assistant (PA), 3 nurses and 3 orderlies/techs.  

    The sidHARTe program at Mampong Municipal Hospital started in July 2009. The hospital is located in the town of Mampong and it is the only hospital serving the entire Mampong municipality (population: 88,625). Mampong is 60 to 90 minutes drive from Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, one of two major tertiary referral centers in Ghana.

    • The hospital has 98 beds in the general wing.
    • There are an additional 56 beds located one kilometer away in the maternity wing, but maternity effectively functions as a separate hospital.
    • In the general wing, there are 2 Ghanaian physicians and 2 Cuban physicians.
    • Malaria is by far the highest cause of admission to the general wing, followed by anemia, pneumonia, diarrhea, typhoid, hypertension and diabetes.
    • The emergency ward has 14 beds.
    • Total ward staff consists of 1 medical assistant (PA), 3 nurses and 1 orderly/tech.