Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital
Founding
In 1958, Catherine and Reginald Hamlin answered an advertisement in the Lancet Medical Journal for an obstetrician and gynaecologist to establish a Midwifery School at the Princess Tsehay Hospital in Addis Ababa. They arrived in Addis Ababa in 1959 on a three-year contract with the Ethiopian Government but only about 10 midwives had been trained before the Government closed the midwifery school. The Hamlins had never seen an obstetric fistula before and, seeing many cases arrive at the school, decided to create a dedicated hospital.
Obstetric fistula was virtually eradicated in the developed world by the 20th century due to improved obstetric techniques such as Caesarean section. As such the Hamlins resorted to studying the works of earlier fistula surgeons such as Dr. J. Marion Sims (the Father of Modern Gynaecology) and from doctors who were still operating in places such as Egypt. The Hamlins refined the surgical technique to close an obstetric fistula, while continuing to treat a broad range of obstetric cases. Word of mouth is the primary method of patients discovering the hospital, going from 30 patients in the first year to 300 patients in the second. Offered treatments include physiotherapy, stress incontinence management, specific treatment for stoma patients, psychological counselling, extended medical care and general education.
Development
Oprah Winfrey Show
In January 2004, Catherine Hamlin appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss the 50 years of free reconstructive surgery that she has been providing to over 25,000 patients. After Dr. Hamlin's visit to the show, thousands of viewers were compelled to act due to her sheer selflessness. The Fistula Foundation, which supports Dr. Hamlin's hospital, received more than $3 million in donations. Oprah Winfrey was so impressed by Dr. Hamlin's actions that she decided to visit the hospital in Ethiopia to tape a second episode in December 2005. The funding received by the hospital following this exposure led to the building a brand new facility with classrooms, examination rooms, housing for residents who travel to the hospital for treatment and a small apartment for the on-call doctors for Desta Mender. Since then Dr Hamlin has gone onto found the nonprofit, HamlinFistula that raises money to fund the Ethiopian hospitals and college of midwives.
References
External links
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