Well, events have once again conspired to make life a little more "exciting" here in Kapsowar. A county-wide government nurses' strike does not affect our hospital directly in that most of our nurses are paid directly by the hospital, not by the government; however as nurse-midwives provide almost all the maternity care in our county, it does mean a sudden and dramatic influx of pregnant and laboring patients. In the new era of government health insurance, this means not only managing their medical conditions, labor, and delivery, but also spending a lot of time checking to see if they have paid their monthly insurance fees, explaining the program to them, calling social work to councel them, re-checking to see if they have paid their fees...If YOU are tired of hearing me talk about the government health insurance plan, imagine how I feel!!
We have a lot to be thankful for, though! Of the approximately 20 mothers who delivered babies between 7am on Tuesday and 7am on Wednesday, ALL of the mothers and babies did well and I don't believe ANY of the babies were admitted to the nursery. Although clinic and our 4-bed labor and delivery ward have been hectic, the maternity nurses have been working well with nurses from other units who have stepped in to help out, we have a visiting resident who is doing a lot to help, and our social work team have made themselves some temporary office space on our ward to help with admissions and discharges.
On the home front, we had a severe power surge on Tuesday evening that burned right through many people's fridge guards and power strips to destroy several appliances. After over 24 hours without power, not knowing whether our appliances would turn back on again, our power was restored last night, and I'm so thankful to report that all of our family's major appliances are working. We'll have to replace our coffee pot (again - haven't had one in Kenya that lasted more than a year) but that's a small price to pay!
I'll end this rather rushed and haphazard post with an introduction to another new website and non-Profit - Friends of Kapsowar! Our teammate Regan has been working hard with a board of wonderful friends and supporters to get this organization up and running, and we are now able to raise money directly for the hospital! Currently the OB/Gyn Department is looking to raise money for the hospital by subsidizing the cost of c-sections. Our goal is $200 USD per c-section in November through January. But even if you have no interest or ability to donate, please check out the website! It is full of fun pictures and great stories curated by Regan. And thanks so much to the many of you who support the hospital in SO many different ways!
Thankful for all of you! Happy Thanksgiving!
