General and Pediatric Surgery Research, Training and Capacity Building
General and Pediatric Surgery Research, Training and Capacity Building Heading link
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Project Site Name
Mekelle University and Ayder Hospital
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Project Site Location
Mekelle, Ethiopia
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UIC CGH Faculty Contact
Thomas Sims, MD
Project/Activity Summary Heading link
Working with the adult and pediatric surgical teams to decrease complications, improve access to care, and establish ongoing clinical research and quality improvement.
Two years ago, there was only one public hospital in Ethiopia with a pediatric surgeon. With the arrival of 3 newly-trained pediatric surgeons, Mekelle University (MU) became one of three institutions in the country with pediatric surgical capability. There is a lot of work to do to catch up on a back-log of operative cases and improve access to surgical care for children in northern Ethiopia. Our goal is to provide support to this new pediatric surgery program. Projects in clinical care target improved efficiency in the OR and with OR supplies, decreased surgical site infections, increased NICU surgical care capacity, and introducing minimally invasive procedures. We are collaborating with the Ayder Hospital pediatric surgeons to provide education and training to medical students and general surgery trainees at Mekelle University with the goal of Ayder Hospital becoming a pediatric surgery training program. Finally, we are providing research support to build-up clinical research skill and expertise among the adult and pediatric surgical faculty.