Showing posts with label Hospital. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hospital. Show all posts

Monday, December 5, 2022

Girl Starts School with Confident Smile after Surgery

PRESS RELEASE
Girl Starts School with Confident Smile after Surgery
Aissatou from Louga, in northwestern Senegal, was born with a cleft lip and palate, and the stigma around the condition in her home village left her trapped at home

Access Multimedia Content

DAKAR, Senegal, December 5, 2022/ -- A little girl has been able to start school with her new confident smile after receiving surgery from a medical charity to treat a birth defect.

Aissatou from Louga, in northwestern Senegal, was born with a cleft lip and palate, and the stigma around the condition in her home village left her trapped at home, isolated and withdrawn.

Due to the unkind reaction she received, and the difficulties the condition brought, her father Ousmane and mother Khadija did their best to protect Aissatou. They felt the need to cover her head in public and felt forced into a decision to keep her out of school.

Left untreated, a cleft lip and palate can lead to difficulties eating, drinking, speaking, and hearing loss.

Farmer Ousmane used the proceeds from his harvest every year to try and find someone to repair his infant daughter’s cleft lip and palate. But every year, he was disappointed.

Ousmane said: “I love my daughter so much, I would never stop looking for her healing.”

In 2019, when Aissatou was just a toddler, Ousmane heard that a hospital ship from international aid charity Mercy Ships was coming to the port of Dakar to provide free surgeries and medical training.

He made the journey to the port with Aissatou, and they were thrilled to receive a surgery appointment. But the joy was short-lived as the operation had to be delayed due to COVID-19.

Ousmane and Aissatou had to return home and wait for the ship to return.

He said: “In my heart I knew that these people would help my daughter. I just kept praying and hoping that the ship would return.”

Aissatou was four years old when she boarded the Africa Mercy hospital ship in 2022 for surgery.

 Despite being a curious little girl full of life she only played alone and not with other children on board.

Ousmane came with Aissatou as a caregiver, while her mother Khadija waited anxiously at home, “I couldn't eat or drink,” she said.

Aissatou’s father, Ousmane was also nervous, “during the surgery I was afraid,” he said as he recalled the difficult hours of waiting.

“I don't know anything about surgery, and I had no idea what was happening. It took a long time before she came back, but when she came back, I was so happy!”

Once the bandages were off, Ousmane and his daughter could both see the transformation. Where before Aissatou’s cleft had been, there was smooth skin. Aissatou stared at herself in the mirror, looking fascinated.

Senegalese translator Boubacar Diallo who worked on the ship during Aissatou’s stay on board her joy was contagious.

He said, “The first thing I see changing on her is the smile. After the surgery she was smiling all the time.

“After surgery she was free. Playing and running everywhere, playing with other kids. She was dancing a lot.”

Her father said: “Her life will change so much now. She will be able to speak properly and go to school.”

When Aissatou returned home, some of those changes were evident immediately. She was embraced by her village and no longer hid her face. She started school, began playing with the other children and helped her father on the farm.

One of the village elders shared: “We had lost all hope. We thought she was going to die like this. Nobody believed that she would be healed.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Mercy Ships.
 
About Mercy Ships:
Global health for the last two decades has focused on individual diseases, while surgical care in low-resource countries has not received the attention it needs. Lack of surgical care resulted in almost 17 million deaths annually.

Mercy Ships is an international faith-based organization that operates hospital ships to deliver free, world-class healthcare services, medical capacity building, and health system strengthening to those with little access to safe surgical care. Since 1978, Mercy Ships has worked in more than 55 countries, with the last three decades focused entirely on partnering with African nations. Each year, volunteer professionals from over 60 countries serve on board the world’s two largest non-governmental hospital ships, the Africa Mercy® and the Global Mercy™. Professionals such as surgeons, dentists, nurses, health trainers, cooks, and engineers dedicate their time and skills to the cause. Mercy Ships has offices in 16 countries and an Africa Bureau. For more information, visit www.Mercyships.org and follow us @MercyShips on social media.

SOURCE
Mercy Ships




Friday, July 1, 2011

Consider Medical Treatment Options



New ad campaign urges patients to consider medical treatment options

Washington DC., June 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — “Explore Your Treatment Options,” a new multimedia ad campaign announced today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Ad Council, encourages patients to become more informed about their options before choosing a treatment for a health condition or illness.

The goal of this campaign is to increase consumers’ involvement in their care by providing easy access to unbiased information about treatment options and tools to encourage patients to work with their doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other clinicians to make health care decisions. It features television, radio, print, web and outdoor ads that encourage consumers to visit AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program website to find plain-language guides that summarize the scientific evidence on treatments for numerous medical conditions, including diabetes, osteoarthritis, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and more.

“We see the best outcomes when doctors and patients work together to come up with a treatment plan that takes into account the patient’s quality-of-life concerns,” said AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D. “Information is power in health care, and this campaign will provide patients with the information they need to become partners with their doctors in their health and health care.”

Since 2005, AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program has compared the outcomes and effectiveness of different treatments and communicated findings to providers and consumers to help them make informed decisions about health care. For example, Treating High Cholesterol: A Guide for Adults, provides easy-to-understand information about different kinds of cholesterol medicines, including how they work and their side effects. The guide also includes a list of questions that patients can ask their doctors to help them choose their best treatment option.

As part of the campaign, AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program website features personal stories from patients with chronic conditions who achieved better health results by exploring their treatment options. In addition, a new Health Priorities Snapshot tool features questions about common daily activities and allows users to rate the importance of quality-of-life concerns. Patients can print out a list of their own health priorities and share it with their clinicians during medical appointments. As part of the campaign, AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program website features personal stories from patients with chronic conditions who achieved better health results by exploring their treatment options. In addition, a new Health Priorities Snapshot tool features questions about common daily activities and allows users to rate the importance of quality-of-life concerns. Patients can print out a list of their own health priorities and share it with their clinicians during medical appointments. These features are available at http://www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/options.

Created pro bono for the Ad Council by Grey New York, the new television, radio, print, outdoor and web ads highlight the fact that consumers have options when buying clothing, dining out, watching a movie or buying a car and should expect options when it comes to their health care.

“This new campaign is a wonderful extension of our ongoing efforts with AHRQ to encourage Americans to take a more active role in their health care,” said Peggy Conlon, president and CEO of the Ad Council. “These ads speak to a compelling insight--we look for options in nearly every aspect of our lives, but we’re not always exploring all treatment options available when it comes to our health care. It’s a very important message, as these decisions can affect the length and quality of our lives.”

The new public service advertisements are being distributed to approximately 33,000 media stations nationwide. Per the Ad Council's donated media model, all of the new public service advertisements will air and run in advertising time and space donated by the media.

“People expect options when it comes to the most mundane things in life like shopping, dining and wallpaper,” said Rob Baiocco, EVP, Managing Partner, Grey Worldwide. “This campaign pushes them to demand the same options when it comes to the most critical thing in life, their health.”

###

AHRQ

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (http://www.ahrq.gov) is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. AHRQ's mission is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. AHRQ's research helps people make more informed decisions and improve the quality of health care services.
The Ad Council

The Ad Council (http://www.adcouncil.org) is a private, non-profit organization that marshals talent from the advertising and communications industries, the facilities of the media and the resources of the business and non-profit communities to produce, distribute and promote public service campaigns on behalf of non-profit organizations and government agencies.

Media Contact:
AHRQ Public Affairs
(301) 427-1855
(301) 427-1892


Thursday, April 21, 2011

9 in 10 Doctors Want More Say in Hospital Management



20 Apr 2011 12:00 Africa/Lagos


Nine in 10 Doctors Want More Say in Hospital Management, Finds PwC Survey

PR Newswire

NEW YORK, April 20, 2011

NEW YORK, April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 90 percent of doctors in a recent nationwide survey by PwC US believe that physicians employed by hospitals should be more involved in executive leadership and management of the hospital, including serving on the board of directors and outlining performance improvement initiatives, according to From courtship to marriage Part II, a new report released today by PwC's Health Research Institute (HRI).

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100917/NY66894LOGO )

Healthcare is moving toward a new approach in payment that rewards doctors and hospitals for quality results over volume, and the shift is driving the two closer together. Hospitals must rely on physicians to help them achieve health reform goals, and in return, physicians want not just financial security but also a say in hospital leadership. The prospects for a long-term union between hospitals and physicians will depend on their ability to meet in the middle, says PwC.

PwC's report is based on a nationwide survey of more than 1,000 physicians, supplemented by in-depth interviews with hospital executives, about their expectations as partners sharing power, resources and outcomes in a post-health reform world. HRI's research focused on what PwC says are three secrets for a successful marriage of hospitals and physicians: Shared governance, aligned compensation and changing physician-practice patterns.

Hospital employment means physicians may have to give up control of how they practice to comply with standards that emphasize overall system quality and efficiency goals. The trade-off, in their minds, comes with certain caveats. PwC's survey of physicians found the following:

* More than eight in 10 physicians (83 percent) who are considering hospital employment said they would expect to be paid the same as or more than they are now, with increases ranging from 1 percent to 4.7 percent or an average increase of 2.4 percent. Forty-five percent of physicians said they would expect an increase in pay and 38 percent would expect no change.
* Realizing the health system is changing to track and reward performance, most physicians agree that half their salary should be fixed and the other half should be based on meeting a combination of productivity, quality, patient satisfaction and cost of care goals, with upside earning potential for performance.
* Expectations for compensation varied by physician specialty, with pediatrics, psychiatry and cardiology expecting the largest increase and general surgery, oncology, and emergency medicine expecting the least.
* Six in 10 physicians (62 percent) believe that nationally accepted physician practice guidelines should be used to guide the way they practice medicine, while one in three (30 percent) prefers locally developed guidelines.


Hospital executives interviewed for the report, however, said they aren't ready to "hand over the keys" just yet. They say that in order to pay physicians higher salaries, they will need to find funds elsewhere in the organization through improvements in the healthcare delivery model. They need physicians to not only help reduce supply and infrastructure cost but also to generate additional revenue.

There also is an issue of physician skills. Hospital leaders who were interviewed say that most physicians lack the business management and leadership skills needed to be effective in positions of leadership and governance.

"To succeed in the future, hospital executives and physicians may both have to cede on money and control issues," said Brett Hickman, partner, PwC health industries advisory. "It's a new day, and hospitals and physicians are beginning to realize that they are better together than apart. As in all healthy marriages, there can't be winners and losers. It is a relationship that has to start with trust and transparency, something hospitals and physicians have previously lacked. Then it's a matter of investing in each other and working together toward shared goals that both sides buy into."

Next Generation of MDs Seeking Business Training and Work-Life Balance

From undergraduate studies through medical school and into residency and fellowship programs, physicians traditionally have focused on the science of medicine. The next generation of physicians, however, is more likely to also receive business training to prepare them for their future careers, says PwC. HRI's review of the required curriculum of the 10 largest medical schools by total active enrollment in the country revealed that no time is formally allocated directly to business-related training. However, several universities are now offering joint MD/MBA programs. In fact, 53 medical school-affiliated universities are recognized by the American Association of Medical Colleges for offering dual-degree programs, a reflection of the medical and academic communities' awareness of and response to the need to address changing educational needs of medical student.

The availability of these programs is too late for today's doctors, which means they will need on-the-job training, an investment that hospitals must be willing to make, says PwC. The report describes how some hospitals are addressing the skills issue by creating educational programs to teach physicians business theory and techniques related to quality improvement, outcomes management and staff development. Beyond skills, the second issue for physicians is time. Physicians who have traditionally been paid to generate volume in a fee-for-service compensation model have been driven to see more and more patients, leaving them little time for anything outside of their medical practice. The question is whether they have capacity to also take on hospital governance and management, at least so long as fee-for-service compensation reigns.

Over two-thirds of physicians surveyed by PwC feel confident they could devote more time to leadership roles and activities of hospitals. Three-quarters (77 percent) say they have time for greater involvement in performance improvement initiatives; 71 percent in hospital executive leadership, and 69 percent have time to serve on hospital boards.

As part of larger well-documented generational trends, younger physicians are likely to want better work-life balance than their predecessors, making flexible compensation structures particularly appealing. In fact, not all physicians expect an increase in pay. Seventeen percent of physicians surveyed said they would accept a decrease in overall compensation when considering employment by a hospital.

"The key for hospital executives will be to determine the right compensation package to offer the right physician, based on their individual aspirations and expectations," added Hickman. "Physicians will be the key drivers in improving and sustaining clinical quality, and providing them with the right mix of compensation based on productivity and incentives will help hospitals increase revenue and avoid financial penalties."

The PwC report profiles three hospitals and the different approaches they have taken to address compensation, governance and practice standards issues. These hospitals are Indianapolis-based Franciscan St. Francis Health, Huntsville (Texas) Memorial Hospital, which is affiliated with the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, and SSM Health Care and Dean Health System of Wisconsin.

From courtship to marriage is a two-part series on hospital-physician alignment by PwC's Health Research Institute, and is part of PwC Health Industries' ongoing exploration of health reform and its implications. A full copy of From courtship to marriage II is available at: www.PwC.com/us/PhysicianHospitalAlignment. From courtship to marriage I and other health reform reports from PwC are available at: www.pwc.com/hri.

Methodology

PwC's Health Research Institute commissioned an online survey of approximately 1,000 U.S. physicians, balanced by age, gender, practice type and specialty. In addition, HRI analysts conducted 28 in-depth interviews with thought leaders and executives representing healthcare providers, payers and professional associations.

About PwC's Health Research Institute (HRI)

PwC Health Research Institute (www.pwc.com/hri) provides new intelligence, perspectives, and analysis on trends affecting all health-related industries. The Health Research Institute helps executive decision makers navigate change through primary research and collaborative exchange. Our views are shaped by a network of professionals with executive and day-to-day experience in the health industry.

About PwC's Health Industries Group

PwC's Health Industries Group (www.pwc.com/healthindustries) is a leading advisor to public and private organizations across the health industries including healthcare providers, pharmaceuticals, health and life sciences, payers, employers, academic institutions and as well as non-health organizations with significance presence in the health market. Follow PwC Health Industries at http://twitter.com/PwCHealth.

About the PwC Network

PwC firms provide industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to enhance value for their clients. More than 161,000 people in 154 countries in firms across the PwC network share their thinking, experience and solutions to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice. See www.pwc.com for more information.

© 2011 PwC. All rights reserved. "PwC" and "PwC US" refer to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership, which is a member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each member firm of which is a separate legal entity. This document is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional advisors.

SOURCE PwC

CONTACT: Todd Hall, PwC US, todd.w.hall@us.pwc.com, +1-617-530-4185; or Lisa Stearns, The Hubbell Group, Inc., lstearns@hubbellgroup.com, +1-781-878-8882

Web Site: http://www.pwc.com



Thursday, April 15, 2010

Nigerian Journalist Attacked during Political Clash

15 Apr 2010 12:43 Africa/Lagos

Nigerian Journalist Attacked during Political Clash / Channels TV Cameraman Felix Vincent taken to Hospital

ABUJA, April 15, 2010/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- A cameraman working for Nigerian broadcaster Channels Television was assaulted on Tuesday in a clash that erupted following an attack on the vehicle of the Action Congress (AC) governorship candidate in Ekiti State, according to local media reports, and Channels Television News Editor Ronke Raji.


Felix was attacked when he attempted to film the violence. He sustained a deep cut to the head and was taken to hospital.


In a telephone conversation with IPI, Raji said: “Some thugs were trying to attack the politicians. Felix was trying to film the attack.”


IPI Press Freedom Manager Anthony Mills said: “It is unacceptable that journalists be attacked simply because they are doing their job. We call on the authorities to launch an investigation into the attack and to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.”


Asked about the current environment in Nigeria for journalists, Raji noted: “It is better than it was under military rule, although there have been a few cases here and there. But there are no more arbitrary arrests.”

In March, as reported by IPI, two sports journalists – a South African and a Nigerian - were abducted along with their cameraman while travelling to an airport in Owerri city near the Niger Delta region, an area notorious for kidnappings.

Gunmen stopped the bus carrying media professionals from the South African sports channel M-Net SuperSport as it travelled through Imo State. The cameraman managed to escape the following day. His two colleagues were released a few days later.



Source: International Press Institute (IPI)