In 2010, I spent some time at our hospital in Pedro Vicente Maldonado (PVM), the only one we had at the time. The hospital administrator told me she needed to take a trip to the coast for a meeting at a public hospital. Would I like to come along? We arrived at a rundown clinic
Since 2000, we’ve maintained a fully functional hospital in Pedro Vicente Maldonado (PVM), Ecuador. When we began, folks in the community had little access to health care and no access to hospital care. There were no government hospitals or private, for-profit hospitals. Basic equipment like X-rays or nebulizer machines, like many of you have used for
55-year-old Marta has chronic kidney disease related to diabetes and hypertension. She has received hemodialysis a few times a week for the past year but missed a week of dialysis. Short of breath, she went to one of Ecuador’s public health centers outside of the small, coastal town of Quevedo.
Having been “in the field” now for more than 25 years, Andean Health & Development (AHD) has seen a very interesting and positive evolution of the “small hospital” and how it connects with primary health care services in the community.
In addition to patient care and training, AHD commits some of its resources to research activities. You might be asking yourself, “why would AHD conduct research endeavors in Ecuador when those resources could be used to address the great unmet need for medical care right now?” It’s a fair question that deserves careful consideration.
How can a hospital – with all its complex patient care flows, inventories, purchasing, billing, and production monitoring – do it all in an effective, meaningful way, while making sure every dollar is spent wisely? This is a challenge faced by virtually all hospitals.
Medicine is constantly evolving. As we gain knowledge and learn new skills, patient care improves. That’s why professional academies and hospitals in the U.S. provide—and demand—regular professional development.
More than 25 years have passed since Andean Health & Development began. Like any organization, it has faced multiple challenges: human, financial, social and even political.
We had a census of 50 hospitalized patients at Hesburgh Hospital in February: a new milestone. Where did they come from? Most came from Ecuador’s ministry of public health and social security systems.
COVID-19 has forced so many changes in the world, and AHD is no exception. The pandemic significantly changed the patient mix at our hospitals, had a substantial impact on our staff, and generally has exhausted everyone. It