Dear friends, Eckehart had been at Shell Hospital for almost three weeks trying to mediate some controversial points between staff and administration. A lot of progress has been made since the new administrators started, but there is still work to do. Old emotional wounds take time to heal and we must continue to adapt to the changing landscape of healthcare in our region.
Several private day clinics are being built in the nearby provincial capital of Puyo, but they tend to cater to a different patient demographic than Shell Hospital. We are committed to the care of the indigenous people, who have greatest need. However, this is not easy because there are vast cultural differences between the many indigenous groups in the area. It is often assumed that people from the jungle are usually poor. However, they often own land and have connections with international aid, development and research organizations.
Their villages usually have a stable social structure. They can often pay for treatment without any problems, although there are also poor and marginalized groups.
The indigenous people in our immediate surroundings and along the newly built major roads tend to have the most difficulties. They have left life in the tribe behind, and with it, often their social ties as well. The poor economic development in their new communities makes it difficult for them to find work and so they often live miserable lives. Family disputes and the associated poverty are much more common among them. In addition to the socio-economic concerns, they also need spiritual help. The government does a lot to help, but nonetheless development takes time and they are often treated as outcasts of society. We also want to do as much as we can, but we still need help from outside supporters for these endeavors. Here are some examples of recent patients:
We recently saw a boy from the jungle who broke his forearm several days prior to arrival at the hospital. After the injury, arrangements had to be made to fly him to Shell. We were able to perform a late bone adjustment and set a cast. These families from the jungle communities can often foot the bill themselves but we also have dedicated charity funds to help with their medical expenses.
We also recently saw K.L., a 2-year-old girl. She lives in one of the poor communities near the hospital with her mother and grandmother. She was diagnosed with leukemia and was referred to a large government hospital for chemotherapy. However, the frequent travel and time away from work and home were not feasible for this single mother and the child’s treatment lapsed. We saw the little girl again and this time we were able to get the extended family involved. We leveraged some of our connections to have her treated at the large children’s hospital in Quito, which also has a team of social workers who can help with costs and logistics. “Damas Alemanas”, a German non-profit in Quito, has also covered part of the costs and she has now resumed her chemotherapy regimen.
The hospital also continues to need renovations. Our current focus is the operating room. We had everything ready according to Ecuadorian guidelines, but they recently changed. We now have a one-year grace period to replace the current flooring with a special linoleum before our permit to perform surgeries is rescinded. This means another special fundraising effort. Eckehart will continue to look into the logistics of this during his last few days of this trip to Ecuador.
We did receive good news that the clinic’s wastewater system does not need to be replaced. We are allowed to discharge this into the public network under the following conditions: 1. Blood from the operating area is collected and then specially treated with chlorine. Then it can be disposed. 2. We will also save blood from the laboratory in the tubes. They go to a special garbage dump with the other infectious waste. There is some cost for this, but we thank God that a separate wastewater system is not necessary as this would have been another major expense.
Finally, we praise God that the hospital is surviving financially and that there has been a lot of progress at the hospital since the new administration began 6 months ago. I experienced a lot of joy during this visit and I was able to contribute to the healing of the team. I also want to share how you can pray with us:
For wisdom for the leadership
For good team integration after recent personnel changes
For an easy solution to the required renovations in the OR
For completion of the international guest house so that it can be put to use this year
For the ability to pay our remaining debts on the property (about $50,000.)
That Shell Hospital would continue to move many hearts for the Gospel.
The Shell Team
Donations: Lightway Medical Foundation
PO Box 8066 Fort Wayne, IN 46898
Checks can be mailed there, or you can donate through the websites. LightwayMedical.org/donations.
