The struggle has been real over the last several years for the staff at Harriet Benson Memorial Hospital (HBMH). Without an OB/GYN to deliver babies and bring in a steady stream of patients and income, HBMH has had a hard time making ends meet. Currently they are without any doctors, but they are working with a local OB/GYN who comes in to care for pregnant mothers and handle their deliveries.

Several EHA hospitals have loaned staff to HBMH off and on, and they are expecting a new junior doctor soon. They have also been holding eye camps with an eye surgeon from another facility. With a faithful staff of just 35 including nurses, technicians, and administrative staff, they care for the patients who come. They have just 7 nurses—5 work at the hospital and 2 are part of the palliative care team that goes out into the communities.

Their community health and development program has two areas of service—disability services and palliative care. The disability support program has reached 11 villages, started 12 disabled persons’ groups, and helped 165 individuals over the last year. The HBMH staff help people fill out paperwork to obtain a disability certificate—which are notoriously difficult to get. They work with governmental and non-governmental organizations to distribute free assistive devices to those who need them. The staff also hold awareness campaigns to help break the social stigma of disabilities so that they are no longer seen as a curse.

HBMH’s palliative care (PC) program has been serving the needs of those with life-limiting illnesses since 2010, and is EHA’s oldest PC program. Each day, 2 nurses and other staff are driven out into the communities to visit the homes of the palliative care patients. They provide medical care, pain management, education for families in how to care for patients, and emotional support. Currently, they are caring for 82 patients in the villages surrounding Lalitpur.

Each of these community programs requires outside funding from grants, organizations, or individuals. If you would like to help meet the needs of these programs or the hospital itself, please click the button on the top right of the page.