About
Annual Medical Mission Trip:
Working closely with our Malawian partners, we help provide medical care at St. Andrews Hospital (a small 80 bed rural semi-private facility), Kasungu District Hospital (a large 350 bed urban government facility), and the K2TASO Clinic (an AIDS patient support and treatment Malawian nonprofit, which is also our partner in all development work. We also participate in rural outreach clinics where we see an average of 400 people per village, sending the most ill to the hospital. We also make house calls to some of the poorest and most infirm, including patients debilitated with AIDS related problems, in isolated villages. (see trip report in “NEWS” section).
- Medical Supplies and Equipment Donations to St. Andrews Hospital:
The medical systems in Malawi are terribly under-resourced and in desperate need of medical supplies and equipment. In order to help, we at BTM procure as much needed material as possible, including syringes, needles, medications, instruments, and dressings and bring it with us when we travel to Malawi. We also bring eyeglasses donated to us by the Stow, MA Lions Club. In addition, we purchased a $10,000 ultrasound machine and donated it to St. Andrews Hospital in 2014 and then 4 hand-held Butterfly IQ Ultrasound devices donated to the K2TASO clinic, St. Andrews Hospital, and Kasungu District Hsopital. We also arranged for the donation of a Rice University invented aquarium pump based bubble CPAP machine called the PUMANI to St. Andrews. This device is designed to help premature newborns survive until their underdeveloped lungs have time to mature. - Healthcare Student International Experience:
We also help train nursing students by providing them the rare opportunity to experience resource poor Third World medical practice as part of our medical mission trip. Two US 4th year medical students have participated in our mission trips in the past as well. We hope to establish a nurse practitioner student elective as part of our medical mission trip in April of 2020.
Accomplishments as of February 2020
See “News” for description of most recent medical mission trip.
- 8 Medical Mission Trips since 2012
- Over $ 45,000 in Medications, Medical Equipment (including ultrasound machines), and Medical Supplies donated to St. Andrews Hospital, K2 TASO, and Kasungu District Hospital
- Over 52 High School Students have travelled with us to Malawi as part of a BTM trip
- A Bubble CPAP Machine (Pumani) to help keep premature newborns alive until their lungs have developed properly to ensure survival without help was donated to St. Andrews Hospital through our efforts. Over 100 neonates saved
- As part of our 2012 medical mission trip, we provide desperately needed life saving medical supplies, medications, and equipment (such as an aquarium pump bubble CPAP machine to save premature babies and an ultrasound machine). These are donated to the hospitals where we work as well as to K2TASO, our Malawian NGO partner, which provides support and medication for the HIV positive population of the Kasungu area where we work.
Shawn teaching clinicians how to use a smart-phone connected ultrasound device.