David and Nancy Piet’s Van Allen Hospital Equipment Update
KFI Grant to Van Allen Hospital, Kodaikanal
Submitted by David and Nancy Piet
March 15, 2020
March 12, 2020 was a fortuitous day for P.H.K., a new patient at Van Allen Hospital in Kodaikanal. After living with a disabling compound fracture of the thigh bone (femur) in his left leg for two years, and spending all his meager resources on traditional healing methods in his village, he was brought by two friends to Van Allen seeking help from the hospital’s orthopedic surgeon and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Senthil Kumar Ganesen. After a seven-hour operation, using orthopedic implants (plates and screws) from a kit (picture on the left) donated by Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach and shipped/transported to Kodai through a grant from KFI’s Fund a Need fund, Dr. Senthil was able to repair his leg.
According to Dr. Senthil this morning, March 15, the patient will return home tomorrow, the 16th. He will need to remain on crutches for six weeks and keep weight off the leg. However, since he lives in an interior village halfway between Kodaikanal and Batlagundu, it seems doubtful that he will be able to avail himself of Van Allen’s physical therapy department. Along with Dr. Senthil we met P.H.K. the day after the operation and he was most grateful to Dr. Senthil and the hospital staff. Because of their intervention, and that of his two friends, he believes he will again be able to live a more normal life.
While working at KIS for six weeks in early 2020, we intended to document various KFI-funded projects including the use of the equipment and supplies donated to the Van Allen Hospital through the leadership of Dr. Jeetu Nanda, the former Chairman of Kodai Friends International (KFI). A concerted effort had been made in recent years to get Van Allen Hospital back into shape after some rough years; new doctors were hired, but the equipment was sadly out of date. In 2017, Dr. Nanda contacted a group called Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach, a medical surplus recovery organization which collects, repairs, packages, and distributes medical supplies and equipment to hospitals and clinics around the world. The Van Allen Hospital was not able, however, to cover the cost of shipping in order to receive these supplies and equipment.
In May 2018, KFI approved a Grant Proposal Request submitted by KIS for $10,247.78 to pay for the transport of these supplies from the United States to Kodaikanal “to significantly update the medical equipment at Van Allen Hospital.” The 20-foot container left the US in June of 2018 and arrived in Kodai in September. KIS students helped to unload it over a long weekend.
Dr. Senthil, along with a nurse (Sister) and the physical therapist, graciously showed us around the hospital’s wards/departments showing off what was now in use or in the supply rooms for future use. As stated in the brief report submitted to KFI (dated June 11, 2019): “Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach, in the latter half of 2018, had sent a container of assorted materials for use at the Van Allen Hospital. The Alumni of the Kodai International School (KIS) was instrumental in organizing this humanitarian gesture. The consignment contained an assortment of over 700 items: i.e., instruments for general clinical, surgical, Orthopedic and Ob-Gyn procedures, consumables and linen appropriate for general and surgical processes, Furniture, stationery, equipment, and electrical items. These excellent materials meet both the general and clinical needs of the hospital as well as the needs of the poorer section of the community. Surgical materials were extensively used including suture materials, orthopedic implants, disposal surgical gowns and drapes, scrubs and pack procedures (extremities, obstetrics and shoulder).” [1]
This brief report focuses on the utilization of the equipment and the benefit to the wider Kodai community. As the pictures show, the equipment and supplies included the orthopedic implant kit used in P.H.K’s surgery, lamps for the delivery and maternity wards, the autoclave, sheets and pillow covers, blowup mattress for those with bed sores, supplies for the NICU including a warming bed, and other life-saving equipment.
P.H.K. now has an opportunity to lead a fuller life thanks to the skill of his surgeon, staff and the generous donations through KFI. His is but one example of the many services provided by the physicians, nurses, and staff at Van Allen to the wider Kodai community.
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[1] Brief report on the use of the hospital support supplies facilitated by Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach (HSMO) to Van Allen Hospital Kodaikanal, India
The Van Allen Hospital’s medical equipment shipment was supported through KFI’s Fund a Need fund.
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