Operations/Projects

 

1. PICU Project:
   • In collaboration with the leadership at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu we are organizing to establish a 5-Bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at the campus of the teaching hospital.
   • The Nemours/Alfred I duPont Hospital for Children Wilmington Delaware and the Cooper University Hospital, Camden New Jersey have donated medical equipment and supplies to support this project
   • A team of Pediatric Intensivists, a Pediatric Surgeon, a Pediatric Neurosurgeon, Pediatric ICU Nurses, Respiratory Therapists, Pediatric Residents, Medical Students from the United States of America will be visiting the campus of the UNTH in October 2018 to install and equip the new PICU, and provide the first round of training necessary for the takeoff clinical services for critically ill children seeking care at the hospital
2. Sister PICU Project:
   • We intend to leverage the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies (WFPICCS) Sister PICU Project; a mentoring program where nursing staff from a PICU in developed countries collaborate with nursing staff of a PICU in developing countries to offer educational, technical and emotional support through training, developing and sharing policies and procedures.
   • The proposed PICU site at UNTH, Ituku-Ozalla, Enugu is being positioned to enter into this program.
3. Global Health Electives:
   • The new PICU site and the Children’s Emergency Room at UNTH will serve as a recognized center in Nigeria for Global Health Electives for pediatric residents, emergency medicine residents and pediatric critical care fellows visiting from the US.
   • We plan to upscale this to include other sites (teaching hospitals) across Nigeria
4. Telemedicine:
   • The proposed new PICU site at the UNTH and other sites (teaching hospitals in Nigeria) will be linked to a robust telemedicine program which will provide a platform for one on one live clinical discussions of critically ill patients seeking care at these sites in Nigeria.
   • This is one of the ways that we plan to support our professional colleagues as we all join hands together to take care of very sick children
5. Mentorship:
   • We provide structured mentorship program for new college graduates, residents, and other professionals
   • Statement from one of the mentees:
     • The mentor-mentee program is a wonderful idea and the benefits can be enormous. I am a medical doctor aspiring for an American experience. Through my mentors, I was able to get a place for observership/rotation at one of the biggest trauma centres in USA. In addition, the arrangement for a smooth stay in America was also made by my mentor, and it was an experience I won’t forget in a hurry!
       – Dr. CMS Okoli, Resident, Burns and Plastic Surgery, National Orthopedic Hospital, Enugu
6. Partnerships/Exchange Program:
   • The partnership that we are building with established PICUs in the US might provide avenues for our colleagues in Nigeria to embark on exchange and short-term training programs abroad for clinical care updates and Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits.