Physical Health Uganda Project #10843

Saving Lives With Emergency Care in Rural Uganda

by Global Emergency Care

Saving Lives With Emergency Care in Rural Uganda

Project Report | Sep 13, 2017
Official ECP Diploma Program Begins!

By Tom Neill | Operations Director

Inaugural ECP Diploma Program Class

I've got great news to report. GEC received final approval from the National Council of Higher Education (NCHE) on the Emergency Care Practitioner Diploma program. After formal approval was received, representatives from the NCHE completed a site visit to Mbarara University of Science & Technology (MUST) and Masaka Hospital to finalize the process. We received final approval to begin recruiting ECP students in August and the formal ECP Diploma program began Monday, September 11th with the first class of 9 ECPs.

This is a huge accomplishment for us as we have been working hard for 10 years to formalize the ECP Diploma program within the Ugandan medical education system with the backing of the Allied Health Council and the Ministry of Health. We are so excited to share this news with you because without your generosity and support this never would have been possible. We appreciate your ongoing belief in us and in the work to bring emergency care to all of Uganda. With this major step forward, we are well on our way.

Although we are very excited abouyt this next step in the progression of Emergency Medicine development in Uganda, we understand that this is only another step in our mission to make life saving medical care available to all Ugandans. We are excited to be on our way. Training quality clinicians and quality educators is our vision for the ECP Diploma program at Masaka and with your continued support we will make it happen!

Best regards,

Tom Neill

Operation Director

ECP Trainers at Masaka: Liz, Teddy & JB

Liz & JB evaluating a patient at Masaka

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Jun 19, 2017
Celebrating 10 Years of Saving Lives

By Tom Neill | Operations Director

Importance of Emergency Care

For the month of June, we are celebrating Global Emergency Care's 10th Anniversary of saving lives in Uganda. To do so, we're hosting a month long fundraiser to train 10 new ECPs for an entire year. In addition, throughout June we'll be feature the incredible people that make GEC the success that it is today. Furthermore, we are releasing GEC's new branding that includes a new logo, look, and refreshed identity ready to tackle the next ten years.

1. 10 for 10 Campaign
Thanks to several generous donors, the first $13,500 donated to GEC will be matched 100%. This means if you donate $100, GEC will receive $200! Our goal is $35,000 to fund the training of 10 new ECPs for an entire year. Give today!

2. People Power
All month, we'll be featuring the amazing people that are the heart of GEC - ECPs, board members, volunteers, and donors. Read our blog to see the features.

3. Fresh New Look, Same Great Work
Thanks to a generous donation from Created for the People we're celebrating 10 years with a new logo and a refreshed identity. We are ready to learn and grow for the next ten years! Learn more

Top 10 GEC Accomplishments in 10 Years

10. National Council Higher Education (NCHE) approval of ECP curriculum - The Uganda NCHE provided the official approval of the Emergency Practitioner Diploma program at Mbarara University (MUST) after many years of effort.

9. Published 10 articles on the need and methods of providing resource-limited emergency care in Uganda. Learn more on our Publications page

8. Collaborated with Ugandan Universities (MUST & Makerere) to plan the first ever emergency physician training program in Uganda (MMed)

7. Recruited over 140 physician volunteers to serve as teachers & mentors for Ugandan ECPs - All GEC volunteer physicians donate their own time, money, and expertise to train ECPs in Uganda. All volunteers physicians leave their families, take time off work, and pay their own travel expenses because they believe in GEC's train-the-trainer model, as well as the impact that the ECPs have on the Ugandan population.

6. Creation of the two year train-the-trainer curriculum - This model was developed to expand emergency care throughout Uganda and similar resource limited settings. The train-the-trainer model employs task shifting, whereby non-physician clinicians, rather then emergency physicians, treat patients. By using non-physician clinicians, this program better utilizes the limited healthcare workforce and can be rapidly and inexpensively scaled-up.

5. Collaboration with Masaka Hospital and expansion of the ECP Training Program - In the fall of 2015, GEC hired a research team and started collecting baseline data at Masaka. With NCHE approval, we look to start a new ECP training class in August. Learn more

4. Opening the Nyakibale ED and starting the first functional emergency department in Uganda - After a thorough needs assessment and extensive fundraising, on June 2, 2008, Nyakibale Hospital proudly opened the first truly functional emergency department in Uganda. Learn more

3. Graduated 21 Emergency Care Practitioners who are now saving lives and training new ECPs!

2. Provided over 70,000 thousand patients with emergency care in Uganda!

1. Every Life Saved!

10 Years of Impact

ECP, Hilary, with patients in the ED at Nyakibale

GEC team in ED at Nyakibale

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Dec 30, 2016
Can you imagine life without emergency medicine?

By Tom Neill | Operations Director

GECC team representing at the AfCEM 2016 in Cairo

"The concept of rapid, emergency care which we take for granted in America is not the standard in Uganda. But GECC is helping make it the standard." - Dr. Omeed, GECC volunteer physician

Can you imagine having a very sick loved one in need of emergency care, but having no access to ambulances, emergency rooms, or doctors trained in emergency medicine? This is the situation everyday in Uganda where GECC trains Emergency Care Providers to treat patients rapidly and save lives.

Don't take my word for it. Read Dr. Omeed's volunteer testimonial to learn how GECC is making the concept of rapid, emergency care a standard in Uganda, not the exception HERE.

We're coming to the end of another successful year at Global Emergency Care Collaborative and we wanted to reach out to THANK YOU! Because of your support, our impact grew tremendously in 2016 with the implementation of a second ECP training program and regional hub at Masaka Hospital. ECPs at Nyakibale and Masaka treated over 20,000 patients this year. Ultimately, we will be training 15 ECPs per year at Masaka and each ECP is expected to treat 40,000 patients in his or her career.

In addition, be sure not to miss our new guest blog post written by Mariel C, GECC Global Health Fellow. In it, she talks about her experience at the recent African Conference on Emergency Medicine with ECPs, Glorious and Hilary in Cairo.

If you have not done so already, we'd like to make one last appeal in 2016. Would you please consider making a year end gift to GECC today?

Your donation will directly fund the Emergency Care Practitioner Training Program - a one of a kind program designed to make emergency care standard for all Ugandans. Every year, GECC trained ECPs treat over 20,000 patients saving thousands of lives that otherwise would not have survived. Your gift will save even more lives in 2017!

You can help sustain another year of dynamic programs. Together, we can make emergency medicine the standard in Uganda.

Wishing you a healthy and happy 2017!

Best regards,

Tom

ECPs, Glorious & Hilary, at AfCEM 2016 in Cairo

Rukungiri landscape in southwestern Uganda

ECP evaluating child in the ED

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