News from Lacor Hospital

NEWS FROM
LACOR HOSPITAL
2009
Photo by Mauro Fermariello
News from Lacor Hospital
In Uganda a dream has come true
In this number
Profession: nurse..................................................................................page 2
Interview with Auma J. Anna.............................................................page 4
Class picture............................................................................................page 6
FONDAZIONE
Canadian
Foundation:
next events.....................................................page
8
PIERO
E LUCILLE
CORTI
PER LACOR HOSPITAL
Bulletin for benefactors and friends
interested in keeping abreast on news from
FONDATION
Lacor
Hospital
and theET
Teasdale-Corti
LUCILLE
TEASDALE
PIERO CORTI Foundation
POUR LACOR HOSPITAL
LUCILLE TEASDALE AND PIERO CORTI
FOUNDATION
FOR LACOR HOSPITAL
Year V – n. 1 – March 2009
Bulletin published by:
Fondazione Piero e Lucille Corti - Milan (I)
and Lucille Teasdale and Piero Corti Foundation - Montréal (CA)
The Lucille Teasdale and Piero Corti
Foundation
8880 Boul. Lacordaire – Saint Léonard
QC - H1R2B3 (CA)
Tel. +1.514.253.1737
info@drlucille.org - www.drlucille.org
Photo by Mauro Fermariello
1
Do you know how a nursing team is organized in a hospital in Africa? Among Millie has been
a nurse at Lacor Hospital since 1983. She is now “Matron” and head of the nursing department and she tells us about this complex organization.
Profession: nurse
An interview with Matron Millie
Matron Millie, can you tell us more
about the nursing department at Lacor Hospital?
Photo by Mauro Fermariello
The nurses are divided into 3 categories; the qualified nurses, the nursing assistants and the nursing aides.
Here in Lacor we train all the nurses. For the nursing aides we recruit
them and they later learn on the job.
For the nursing assistants we train
them for a period of 3 months. For
the qualified nurses they normally
undergo formal training in school
for one and a half years then they are
later recruited as white belts (the
colour of belt which female nurses
wear on their white uniforms).
A nurse can decide to return to Among Millie, Senior Nursing Officer and Head of the Nursing Department
school for additional training. After
the training these wear yellow belts on white uniforms. We noticed that at Lacor there are different colors for the
Those who wear yellow belts can further climb the profes- uniforms…
sional ladder and become red-belt nurses. These (yellow Yes, each category wears a different uniform. Aqua-green
and red) allows them to hold positions of responsibilities is for the nursing aides, light blue for the nursing assistants,
within the hospital. Then there is the black belt which is dark blue for the cleaning staff. Student nurses wear a whiBulletin from Lacor - page 2
worn by the Senior Nursing Officers.
Black belts can become Matrons as I am. I have two assistants Matrons who are also black belts. Each ward has an
in-charge nurse who organizes the rotation of the teams.
The Matron reports to the Medical Director, while the
in-charge nurse reports to the Matron and to the Head of
Department.
te apron over their uniform, which can be either pink for
those who attend the course for registered nurse (1st cycle
of studies) or blue for those who attend the specialization
course (2nd cycle). After they finish school, qualified nurses wear a white uniform. The degree or level of specialization are indicated by the color of their belt and on the
epaulettes, for females, and on the shirt collars for men.
Photo by Mauro Fermariello
A “yellow belt” with a pregnant mother in the Maternity Ward
We also noticed that the Ugandan nurses wear different types
of head caps. Does each one correspond to a different role?
Yes. They are different fashions of head caps. For example
the ones made of lace are worn by registered nurses. The
plain ones are worn by enrolled nurses (students in blue
uniforms). To wear a head cap is sign of professionalism.
How are the shifts organized at the hospital?
We have a morning shift, from 7.30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; an afternoon shift, from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. and a night shift from
8 p.m. to 7.30 a.m. All wards are open 24 hours, so that all
have a night shift, except the outpatient clinic and Radiology. At Lacor we work six consecutive days followed by
one day of rest. Once a month we work night shifts for one
week followed by 3 days of rest. However, with this type of
organization the staff is different at each shift. This is why
we are experimenting with a new system, with fixed shifts,
which would help us a lot.
A nurse with a little patient
Yes we have. It is a very valuable instrument to establish career promotions or the award of scholarships. Evaluations
are done by the in-charge nurse, while the in-charge nurse
is evaluated by the black belts.
Did you work with Piero and Lucille Corti?
I worked a lot with Dr. Lucille in Surgery, in fact I started
working with her in 1983. She was incredibly dedicated
to the patients, with her here it was always “patient first”.
When she was there you could never remain idle, she had
no patience for laziness or lack of professionalism. She
had a vocation to serve and loved the poor more than the
rich.
What changes did you notice at the hospital over the years?
In the past activities were centralized, today there are more
offices. We also have many more patients and doctors. In
Lucille’s time there were very few doctors and each one
Bulletin from Lacor - page 3
How many hours/week does a nurse work?
had to manage all departments.
A nurse can work up to 45 hours/week, with an average
of 41-42 hours. We clock in when we start our shift. If someone is often late this will be taken into account for the
annual performance evaluation.
Do you like working at Lacor?
So you have a system of performance evaluation?
I love being identified with Lacor Hospital. Everybody
knows that it is a highly professional structure and whoever has worked here can easily find work somewhere else
because of Lacor’s excellent reputation in Uganda.
“Doctors
consider that a good and humane relationship with the patient is of paramount
importance.
At Lacor there is no discrimination. I would not work anywhere else.”
Interview with Auma J. Anna
A nurse at the Lacor Hospital
When did you start working at Lacor?
In 1978, when I was still a student, but I was already
working both at the hospital and at the health centers in
Amuru and Pabbo.
Photo by Mauro Fermariello
Did you know Piero and Lucille?
Of course, I knew Dr. Piero and Dr. Lucille very well. Actually I worked with them, especially with Lucille, since
1978, when I was still a student at the nursing school of
the hospital. When I graduated in 1981, I was dispatched
to the surgery department, where I stayed until 1983 working with Dr. Lucille. Then I was sent to the Amuru health
center. In 1985 I came back to the Surgery I department
and also at the outpatient clinic with Dr. Lucille. In 1989,
I requested and was granted a transfer to Maternity ward.
I was not a specialized midwife, but in Amuru, as the only
qualified nurse, I had acquired a lot of experience. Many
colleagues were afraid to work in Maternity because they
did not have any experience with deliveries. Furthermore, during the war I realized how important my job was,
as in our communities mothers are the most vulnerable
patients.
How has the hospital changed over the years?
There have been many changes. Today there are many
more patients. In Dr. Lucille’s time, she was able to visit
three departments – Maternity, Surgery I and Paediatri-
Auma J. Anna with a patient and her newborn baby
Bulletin from Lacor - page 4
cs – and go on to the outpatient clinic. Today it is hard
for physicians to take care of everything alone, but Dr.
Lucille could do it: before any other physician showed
up, she had already visited two departments. But today
there are too many patients. However, there are also many
more physicians. There are many trainees and they need
to learn. When Dr. Lucille wanted to teach someone so-
mething, she concentrated on that person so that he or
she could learn her lessons well.
Today there are also many more buildings and beds available. There is more space for the patients. Just recently a
unit was added in Maternity ward for premature babies
and their mothers. Yes, there has been much progress over
the years. The number of obstetricians has also increased.
Many more are working in Maternity full time. In the past,
when there were fewer doctors, all of them had to manage
Maternity, Surgery, Operating theatres, and other medical proceedings: it was a real problem. Today there are
specific specialists for each department. In the beginning
we were very few nurses, they were trained here on the
job. Today there are many more specialized or qualified
nurses. And there are other positions too. The motivation
is high because it is possible to build up a career.
What is it that you appreciate most at Lacor?
(She smiles as though she did not expect the question). I
like many things here, especially the fact that the medical
staff considers the good and humane relationship with
the patient to be of paramount importance. Here there is
no discrimination, everybody is treated the same.
Furthermore, other hospitals do not have the same equipment as the Lacor. Sometimes they even lack basic instruments, that the patients themselves must buy, for example
gloves and gauzes! If you do not have the means to buy
them, you do not get any treatment! The same happens
with the medicines: in other hospitals the physician prescribes them but it is the patient who must buy them. On
the contrary, here patients who cannot pay are given everything they need to be cured. That is why I would not
work anywhere else.
Another feature of this hospital is that the staff gets free
treatments. And the employees of other hospitals come
to us to be treated! Also, those who used to work here and
left, come back here to have access to treatments. This means that the Lacor Hospital is the best. And moreover the
medical staff gets free accommodation (water and electricity included) within the hospital complex.
What has been the most difficult time for you?
The war, for sure. The LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) was
founded in 1986, the same time when I was transferred to
the Amuru health center. When the war intensified, I had
CIVIL WAR, AS DESCRIBED BY DR. CORTI
Gulu, December 30, 1986
(…) The situation here is most miserable. For the
first time in 26 years, half of the hospital’s beds
are empty.
The guerrilla warfare is all around us. Sometimes it is the army that takes control of the area,
sometimes it is the guerrillas. War casualties are
not brought here because those from the government do not want to be caught in a hospital bed by the rebels, and vice versa!
This too never happened before. Ten days from
now there will be a last ultimatum to the rebels:
if they refuse to surrender and give up their
arms, there will be fight and fire (they say that
the savannah, the houses and the food stocks
will be razed). If this happens, it would be the
end for our population.
I had another terrible experience in 1995 while I was working at the Pabbo health center. Once again the rebels raided the place and once again I lost everything. Those who
lived in the Pabbo region were killed, I saw it with my
own eyes, it was horrible. When I finally got home, Brother Elio was so relieved, he did not believe I could come
back safe and sound.
You recently got a new specialization…
Yes. I was a trained midwife, but now, as soon as the results of the exams are published, I will also be a “Public
Health Nurse”, meaning specialized in basic health and
health education, very useful for the Lacor Hospital,
especially at its peripheral health centers. Usually people
know very little about diseases and prevention, they have
Bulletin from Lacor - page 5
to go back to Gulu – a 40 km trek on foot. The journey
was very risky, but Dr. Corti had sent me a letter urging
me to go back to Gulu by all means. So I left on foot, hiding in the forest. I could not of course take my things
with me, so I left everything at Amuru and the rebels stole
everything, even my diploma. The center was raided completely. The war really hurt me.
to be helped to understand, otherwise they will listen to
rumours and popular beliefs…
It was founded in 1973. The professionals who graduate from Lacor are among the
best at a national level.
Class picture
The nursing school is 36 years old
The Nursing School of the Lacor Hospital is structured
on two levels: 1st and 2nd level. It was founded in 1973
by Piero and Lucille Corti and was one of the first steps
for the hospital to become self-supporting.
Today the school is headed by Sister Grace, a registered
nurse who is also a clinical officer (health technician) and
a tutor. She reports to a Committee which is composed
of the Hospital’s director, the Matron, the Secretary, the
Head of the lab technicians school, the Head of the school’s administration and herself as the Principal Tutor.
Sister Grace, how does the school work?
First there are two years to obtain the diploma of “Enrolled Nurse”, a qualified nurse. Then there is a one and a half
year course to become a “Registered nurse”, a specialized
nurse. You have to be 18-20 years old to start the school.
Between 20 and 22 students are employed at the hospital,
but already in their first year they practice in the wards.
The Lacor Hospital is very much understaffed if we con-
sider the work load. This is why the nursing school is so
important: our students help a lot. The problem is that
sometimes there are too many of them, sometimes not
enough. Furthermore, students must periodically train
at the peripheral health centers, because the Government
wants to make treatments available to the population at
large. Those who live in the rural regions have difficulty reaching the hospital because of the distance and the
costs involved, so when they finally get there it is often
too late… In any case, our school manages to be up to ministerial demands while at the same time being flexible
enough to cover its own needs. My job is to always ensure
a certain balance between applying the rules and respecting individual needs.
What is the most frequent advice you give your students?
To keep a straight back! Someone’s gait is very important,
a sign of professionalism.
Photo by Mauro Fermariello
Sister Grace (on the right), head of the Lacor Nursing School, with
Apio Angioletta, a “black belt”.
Students register for the annual workshop at the
hospital.
LETTER FROM PIERO CORTI TO “DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE”*
June 20th, 1976
(….) The school is now fully built and functional.
We have 56 students. Six have graduated in
November. They have all brilliantly passed the
final Government exams. Two of them have
graduated with distinction: among the 250
students of all Ugandan schools, there have
been only three “distinctions”. It is a good start
for our school with this first class which completed the three-year course. In October this year
16 of our students will pass the final exam, we
hope with the same level of success and more…
1973, student nurses with Dr. Lucille
Photo by Mauro Fermariello
* One of the Canadian organizations that helped the
hospital through funding.
Photo by Mauro Fermariello
Photo by Mauro Fermariello
2007, one of the classes. During the 2007-2008 school year, of the 50 students who graduated from the Lacor School, 15 have been
employed by the hospital.
THE TEASDALE - CORTI FOUNDATION AT THE HEART OF
THE MONTREAL 2009 MILLENNIUM SUMMIT
Thanks to the initiative of Daniel Germain, Montreal hosted its first Millennium Promise Conference in November
2006. The conference then became Montreal’s Millennium
Summit; a forum for decision-making and the exchange
of ideas. The Millennium Summit mission is to initiate profound changes for the great challenges of the coming
century, as defined by the United Nations in September
2000: human development, sustainable development, health and solidarity.
Italian photographer Mauro Fermariello. The photo exhibition was last displayed in 2008 in Ottawa, where IDRC
(International Development Research Centre) joined in coordinating the exhibit along with the help of Library and
Archives Canada. IDRC will be present at the Montreal
Summit as well, sharing the booth with the Teasdale-Corti
Foundation.
Dr. Dominique Corti will be traveling to Montreal, Canada
in April of this year as a guest speaker at the Millennium
Summit.
The Millennium Development Goals are the most broadly
supported, comprehensive, and specific poverty reduction
targets the world has ever established. In 2000, the largest
gathering of world leaders in history adopted the UN Millennium Declaration, committing their nations to a new
global partnership to reduce poverty, improve health, and
promote peace, human rights, gender equality, and environmental sustainability. If the goals are achieved, more
than 1.4 billion people will be lifted from extreme poverty
and 30 million children will live to celebrate their fifth birthday.
Dr. Corti will take part in a panel along with well known
presenters such as Mia Farrow, John Prendergast and
Marc and Craig Kielburger. With an introduction by Quebec actress Marina Orsini, on April 15th and April 16th Dr.
Corti will present the work of the Lacor Hospital to a youth
and experts forum.
The Teasdale-Corti Foundation has also been invited to
display their photo exhibition at Palais des Congrès, comprised of 60 stunning photographs taken by well known
GLOBAL HEALTH RESEARCH CONFERENCE
Dr. Martin Ogwang and Dr. Dominique Corti have been
invited to speak at 7th Annual Global Health Research
Conference “ Convergence of Maternal and Child Health:
Global Perspectives” at the University of Toronto in the
MacLeod Auditorium, on April 27th and 28th 2009. Dr.
Martin will also take part in a panel to discuss Perinatal Mobidity and Mortality along with Pediatrician-in-Chief, Shoo
Lee from the MT. Sinai Hospital & Head, Neonatology Division of UofT and Edward Liechty, Professor in Department
of Pediatrics, Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Indiana University. The Foundation has also been invited to display part
of their photo exhibition at the opening reception of the
conference, photos taken by well known Italian photographer, Mauro Fermariello.
Bulletin from Lacor Hospital - page 8
The Lucille Teasdale and Piero Corti
Foundation
The Lucille Teasdale and Piero Corti Foundation is a
charitable organization created to contribute to the support of the Lacor Hospital in northern Uganda.
Reg. N. : 890520745RR 0001
Reference
Filippo Campo - f.campo@drlucille.org
Tel.: +1.514.253.1737
8880, boul. Lacordaire, St-Léonard, QC.
H1R 2B3 (CA)
Donations
Donations to the Lucille Teasdale and Piero Corti
Foundation can be sent by mail to:
8880, boul. Lacordaire, St-Léonard,
QC, H1R 2B3 (CA)
or online: www.drlucille.org
News from Lacor
is a bulletin offered to all who wish to receive news on
the Lacor Hospital and Teasdale Corti Foundation. It is
published by Fondazione Piero e Lucille Corti (Milan,
Italy) and Lucille Teasdale and Piero Corti Foundation
(Montréal, Canada).