A pharmacy professor and a nursing professor teamed up to revitalize a hospital that serves the needs of more than 300,000 people in the villages of Egbe, Nigeria.
The mission hospital has limited paid staff and minimal resources, said Dr. Nakisha Kinlaw, who traveled to Nigeria with doctor of nursing practice student Trenae Garibaldi and Dr. Amos Abioye, an associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences. The team trained 180 nurses in CPR and first aid, developed a procedure manual for nursing students and improved pharmacy practices at Egbe Hospital.
The PBA team worked in partnership with the Egbe Hospital Revitalization Project and stayed on a compound with a larger mission team that consisted of healthcare workers, engineers, mechanics, teachers, pastors and missionaries.
This marked the first time a nursing professor and a pharmacy professor co-led a Gregory Center for Medical Missions trip, said Acting Director Dr. Dana Brown. It took a different approach from past trips, where pharmacists dispensed medication, for example. It laid the foundation for an ongoing, strategic partnership with Egbe Hospital.
Dr. Nakisha Kinlaw, left, and doctor of nursing practice student Trenae Garibaldi, center, organize supplies for a medical outreach event in Egbe. They provided dental screening, HIV testing, lab testing, medical assessments and medication to 150 people living in rural villages.“This was to instill best practices to help them help their people,” Brown said of the West African doctors and nurses. “It’s coming alongside of them — not only ‘How can we help them?’ How can they help us?”
Another trip is in the works for 2020, and Brown sees an opportunity for fourth-year pharmacy students to make rounds on medical teams.
Through medical outreach, Kinlaw and Garibaldi also provided dental screening, HIV testing, lab testing, medical assessments and medication to 150 people living in rural villages.
Abioye started new initiatives at the hospital, such as including a pharmacist in the medical rounds. Kinlaw began to develop a nursing protocol binder for the hospital staff.
“Amos was also very instrumental with sharing the light, love and healing power of Jesus by doing home visits to the sick and praying and sitting with them,” Kinlaw said.
Dr. Nakisha Kinlaw leads a CPR training for West African nurses at Egbe Hospital in Nigeria.Abioye was trained as a pharmacist in Nigeria and has experience in pharmaceutics and pharmaceutical sciences education in Nigeria, Malawi, China and the United Kingdom. Because of his background, he was able to accomplish a lot quickly, said Robert Read, who invited PBA faculty to Egbe. Read is recruitment and donor relations coordinator for the Egbe Hospital Revitalization Project and co-chair of the PBA Parents Council.
Abioye did an analysis and identified opportunities for the hospital to improve its technology, medicine and practices.
“It was presented with a very non-confrontational approach, and it was greatly embraced by the pharmacists there,” said Read, who heard Abioye’s pitch to the hospital’s medical director and leadership team.
Read approached PBA faculty with a focus on recruiting nurses, because Egbe Hospital wants to convert its nursing and midwifery schools into colleges. PBA came back with an offer to send a pharmacy professor, too — Abioye. He “really added value,” said Read.
“We definitely see room for ongoing collaboration,” Read said. “Working with PBA has been very easy. The team that we took was a pleasure to work with.”
