Yotkom Medical Centre OPENING Video

Gateway Baptist Church has released a short 3 minute video , sharing about the Yotkom story and  showing footage of the recent opening ceremony .
This was attended by Pastor Jason Elsmore and other Australian guests.
It was a wonderful time of exuberant celebration and thankfulness  to God for all that has happened over the past few years .
We are thankful  also to everyone of our supporters and partners who have played a part in this story .
Please continue on the journey with us.



Yotkom Medical Centre opening video April 2016

Thankyou to Nick Paton for the filming and editing.

Official opening ceremony. Yotkom Medical Centre

It has been six months since the Yotkom Medical Centre started serving the community and  treating the sick of Kitgum community.
On the 9 th April 2016 we held an official opening ceremony.

Local officials attended and community representatives as well as 17 Australian  citizens.
We really appreciated our friends travelling all this way to share the joyful day with us .
We all enjoyed some traditional Acholi singing and dancing presented by the community here.

The pastor of Gateway Baptist Church ,Jason Elsmore, helped Andrew and Anne Wright with the official opening duties.

Gateway Church have been one of our key partners and supporters.

Other guests included Dr Michael Burke from Healthserve Australia

And leaders and students from the South Sudan Clinical Officer training school , Jonglei..joined in the celebrations.

Our Yotkom medical clinic team looked very smart in their new uniforms .

Ultrasound Service commences at Yotkom

After a long wait we were excited today to take delivery of a new ultrasound machine.
This will really benefit our patients and help improve our capacity to make correct diagnosis.
Thankyou to kind donors in Australia who gave specifically for this purpose.

Meanwhile as we prepare for our opening ceremony we are reminded that we battle constantly against dust in this environment. It gets into everything !

Pat holdsworth, a highly skilled paramedic from Australia is taking a series of lectures with our medical staff on resuscitation and trauma management.

Preparing for our opening ceremony

Our Yotkom team from Australia have now been in Kitgum for 14 days

The team is made up of

Dr Andrew Wright

Anne Wright

Pat Holdsworth

Maree Holdsworth

It has been a very busy time and also quite a challenge dealing with very hot conditions over 40C most days. Its difficult to sleep at night. Power has been off for 3 days and our solar is under powered because of afternoon storms.

From the first day we arrived we have been working on several fronts.

1. To make preparations for the opening ceremony on April 9^th.
   
   

   

   
   

Time spent visiting important community members and sending out invitations as well as agreeing on a program, establishing a planning committee (essential in an African setting !) and making sure we have some traditional Ugandan singing and dancing .

Our chaplain, Rev Concy has played an important part in the process , guiding us, leading mee tings and ensuring we develop good relationships with community leaders.

2. The second area of need is to identify structural areas needing attention in the Yotkom Medical Centre building. We are working with the builder, Andrew Kilama to see the contract expectations met and to do some extra work including tiling of consultation areas.
   

   
3. Sterilisation procedures in the Medical Centre are being reviewed by Anne Wright. She has done some research prior to travelling to Kitgum and intends to implement changes to improve our practice in this area. Our Ugandan health workers are very supportive.
   

   

                             
4. Trainee Clinical Officers from South Sudan have joined us for four weeks and we have developed a program of tutorials for them and assigned them to specific areas of the medical centre for observation and mentoring.     
   

   

    
5. CME lectures (Continuing Medical Education) have commenced with Andrew and Pat sharing the load. They will take place Monday Wednesday and Friday afternoons. 
   

   
6. Pat has been teaching at SEVO (Samaritan Emergency Volunteer Organisation). A class of 25 volunteers from local villages have received his expertise in first aide including fracture management and CPR. He had expected to teach again next week however they are taking a break for a couple of weeks.  
   

   

   
7. Maree is spending a lot of time at Yotkom Medical centre working alongside the administration staff and nurses. She so much enjoys building relationships and sharing knowledge and looking at ways we can improve our workplace. 
   

   
8. We are thankful to our Australian IT guru Graham Hambly , who was online with us for several hours to help with our network problems. 
9. Negotiation is under way to source a vehicle for Ambulance which could be based at the Yotkom Medical Centre. We are hopeful for a successful outcome.
10. Meanwhile at our guesthouse site the renovation of the house is nearing completion and we will start making plans for a duplex construction shortly. This will house one of our medical staff and family as well as provide a place to stay for visitors from overseas.
    

    

    

     

It is very encouraging to see our team of health workers bonded together as a family with a united purpose to deliver high quality compassionate care to this community. They already have a developed a reputation for excellence and kindness.

Yotkom Medical Centre. Birth Day. October 12. 2015

Photos of our birth day and first week of treating and admitting patients at Yotkom Medical Centre.
The realisation of a long term vision and. Culmination of years of Hard work and perseverance by a  dedicated team of. People here in Uganda and in Australia,
Many of us found it difficult to contain our excitement and joy !

I believe we have the best team of health professionals in Uganda 

With so much potential!

We are committed to our mission statement :

Improving access and excellence in Primary a Health care in Northern Uganda.

Building relationships, resources and self reliance.

Please partner with us.

Yotkom Medical Centre is an oasis of hope and healing in Northern Uganda 

Yotkom medical team teaching and orientation day

Dr Andrew Wright and Dr Ben Warlow from Australia joined with the Yotkom Medical Centre team for a day of getting to know each other,  enjoying some medical education and gaining  more understanding of the Yotkom vision and values.
Our team consists of a supervising Doctor, two clinical officers, four nurses, two nurse assistants, two administrative officers, two laboratory technicians, an x Ray technician, as well as our chaplain, counsellor and other support staff.
We are prepared for day one on Monday !
We know this is the beginning of a medical centre of excellence for Kitgum Uganda

The team at Yotkom Medical Centre will see our first patients on October 12 th 2015

It is so exciting to anticipate the opening of our medical centre in less than a week !

This Saturday, Two days before we open our doors , our medical and support staff team of 20 will gather together for a full day of orientation, building relationships and sharing the vision and values of the Yotkom leadership.

Landscaping and planting of our garden have commenced.

Solar System with over twenty panels and an intelligent inverter along with generator back up are ensuring a reliable energy source.

This means we can set up a computer network to allow clinicians to document patient consultations and also access up to date on line medical information on drugs and the latest therapeutic approaches to common conditions,

 

Our X-ray technician, Julius , has successfully set up the machine and taken good quality film.

8 solar batteries safely locked away within the building 

The main computer server station in the administrators office.

Access to quickbooks online for account keeping and sales receipts .

Clinical officers are proudly setting up their work space with desk chairs , examination couch and easy access to sinks for hand washing. Effective LED lighting will provide good night time consulting spaces.

The new pharmacy , dispensary had been fitted out with cupboards and shelves remodelled from our previous premises.

Thankyou to all who have helped us come to this point.

Your ongoing assistance will make it possible to stock our pharmacy with drugs and our emergency room with dressings and instruments for wound repair , fracture treatment and surgery.