CURE Kenya Medical Equipment

One year ago, I left my job at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center and comfortable life in Boise to embark on a 5 month journey through Africa that was life changing.  Little did I realize that the trip would affect me so deeply and literally alter the course of my career. 

As a volunteer nurse for CURE International, I had the opportunity to visit hospitals in Kenya, Zambia and Malawi and participate in the care of pre and post-operative patients on the wards and in the clinics.  CURE is an American 501(c)(3) non-profit Christian mission organization that performs life-altering surgeries for children and adults with congenital anomalies, significant injuries, deformities, and disabilities.  You can learn more about their work at https://cure.org. 


CURE is a wonderful organization that does amazing work.  Like many mission hospitals in Africa however, their nursing staff cares for patients under challenging conditions, including lack of supplies and medical equipment that is in good working order.  During my time at CURE Kenya, I noted that the machines being used by nurses on the patient wards to collect vital signs were outdated and frequently didn't work properly.  This created a huge problem during an incident in which a patient of ours had a life threatening emergency and we were unable to obtain her vital signs in a timely manner, which contributed to a poor outcome for the patient.  After this event, I vowed to myself that I would find a way to update their equipment to improve the quality of patient care and make checking vital signs easier for the nurses. 


Since my return to the states last spring, I have moved to Tacoma and transitioned my career towards Pediatric Orthopedics as a result of my experiences working with CURE.  Thanks to contacts here in Washington at GE Medical and Henry Schein Medical, I was able to obtain 2 Carescape V100 Monitors at a discounted price, and the necessary associated equipment (blood pressure cuffs, tubing, rolling carts) was generously donated by these two companies. These machines represent a huge upgrade to the current equipment.  I am now fundraising to cover the cost of the monitors plus travel to Kenya to ensure its safe delivery to the hospital. 


Please consider donating to this very worthy cause!  Any amount raised in excess of the goal for this project will be donated directly to CURE for purchase of additional medical supplies and equipment.  Thank you!