Week 5 (5/27/2010): Royal Victorian Teaching Hospital, Banjul

Royal Victorian Teaching Hospital (RVTH)

Peter from Kenya, Carlos from Cuba, and Me (From left to right)

A portable ECG next to the WeServe Drexel toolbox

Working on a DevilBiss oxygen concentrator

Peter and I working on the Siemens MRI machine

Today I leave the Gambia and head back home. I have mixed feelings about leaving because I really miss home but I've made so many good friends here. Hopefully, I will return in the future and continue my work assisting the hospitals.

Upon arriving in Banjul I checked into the Atlantic hotel because the Royal Victorian Teaching Hostpial (RVTH) didn't have any accommodations for me. At the hospital, I worked with a Kenyan named Peter and a Cuban named Carlos. They both were doing volunteer work as well. Their mission was to repair the nonfunctioning medical equipment. At RVTH, there is a tremendous amount of old and new equipment. It is the largest and most advanced hospital in the Gambia. It is supported by its tremendous amount of donors. It houses a little over 400 beds and this hospital is where all the others send the patients they can't treat. The hospital was always busy and I had a lot of work to do when I was there. Here is some of the equipment I was able to fix and diagnose.

• Siemens MRI machine
• 3 Centrifuges
• A DevilBiss oxygen concentrator
• A portable ECG machine

Diagnosed:

• An ultrasound: needs a new fuse
• Two centrifuges need new "carbon brushes"