FOHG’s 2022 Year in Review
Once again we found ourselves unable to visit the Mother Ignacia Hospital, and Prof Johannes Hospital as well as the Polytechnic and medical school of Undana, Kupang but we are very much indebted to our Consultant on the ground there, Pak Nus. Through him we have been able to maintain contact, continue our Zoom lecture presentations, and as a consequence of the extremely generous contributions of Dr David a significant number of physical enhancements at Mother Ignacia hospital have been implemented. These have been summarised in a separate presentation by Pak Nus.
Early in the year the Laundry project was completed. This was an essential addition to the hospital’s infrastructure as part of the journey to gaining hospital accreditation.
Laundry
During the year work began on renovating and re-equipping the Dental Clinic. As has been the case with all our projects this proceeded smoothly within budget and on time.
Newly renovated dental building
Inside the dental building
During the year the contributions of Dr David also enabled FOHG to purchase, on behalf of RSUMI a nearby house – the Pak Michael house. The purpose of this acquisition is to provide a Day Care Centre for the children of the staff at the Hospital, and perhaps also generate some revenue by making it available to the wider community. It is also planned to use it as a place to offer skills training to local unemployed women so that they can find jobs to support their family.
In the second half of the year a Morgue was built as a requirement of gaining hospital accreditation.
Child care centre and Training space
Throughout the year donations from patients of Dr David and others have funded Birth Sponsorships. These donations covered the cost of accommodation before birth, post-natal support, and also a Care package for the mother and baby to take home with them. In 2022 this support was provided to 50 Mums and Bubs.
The first two recipients of the Love Family scholarships are both doing well in their Nursing Diploma III and Bachelor of Nursing courses at the Health Polytechnic of MoH.
The FOHG maintained its support of the Zoom Lecture program despite challenges from time to time. A major factor in this continuing to go ahead was the support and work of Pak Nus.
A major project undertaken by Sister Bernadete and her team during the year was preparing the hospital for maintenance of their accreditation by the Government. The physical enhancements that were required are referred to in this and last year’s summary of FOHG activities. In late December they were notified that their accreditation was confirmed until December 2026. A great result from a lot of hard work by all concerned.
Following the tragic and untimely loss of colleague Dr Peter Scott, FOHG decided to fund in his memory the construction of a much needed building containing a large hall and offices to support the work of the hospital staff. The hall can function as a conference room which will be used for workshops, seminars and as a staff training area. It will have internet facilities for local teaching sessions and could be a location for visiting FOHG teams when that activity returns.
The Office area will handle administrative functions so the privacy needs of office activity and its work can be kept separate from other activities. As usual this project is proceeding on time and within budget and it is planned to have an opening and naming ceremony on Saturday June 10th, 2023. It is clear from this video that the construction will benefit many families even before the hall and offices come into use.
At present several of the FOHG team plan to travel to SoE for the opening and dedication of the Peter Scott Educational Building. We are hopeful that regular visits for support will follow.