The Sunday after we arrived in Jimma, Matt and I decided to wander around the university campus. We wanted to see if we could find the hospital. The campus is huge. It is about 10 times bigger than Rice. Both students and faculty live on campus. After wandering around for some time, Matt and I thought we finally found the hospital. But, what we thought was the entire hospital was just the the maternity ward building. On Monday, Abreham gave us the full tour of the hospital and introduced us to most of the department heads.
- “Maternity Ward Building”
Jimma Referral Hospital (aka Jimma University Specialized Hospital) was originally built in the 1930s when Italy invaded Ethiopia. It was built as an army hospital, so for tactical reasons it is very decentralized. Each medical ward has its own building. It is not organized like any hospital I’ve seen in the US. Jimma is in the process of building a new hospital (it is supposed to be finished early next year), which is going to be organized more like a modern hospital.
- “New Hospital Being Built”
- “Old and New Hospitals”
Like the faculties, the hospital itself is decentralized. The medical equipment is owned by each department rather than the hospital. As a result, broken equipment is stored in the wards rather than in the biomedical workshop. It also means that parts from one device cannot be used to fix another, if they are owned by different departments. This is a big issue because spare parts are often the limiting factor when trying to fix equipment.
The decentralization also makes it difficult to manage medical equipment. Each department does not know what equipment the other departments have. Also it makes it difficult for the hospital to throw things away. No one staff member has the authority to throw something away. The biomedical technician has to write a letter to the hospital/university administrator. They have to consult the purchasing/financial department. If the equipment is expensive enough, then the university may also have to consult the Ministry of Health. As a result, broken equipment that no one wants and cannot be fixed just piles up (literally).
- “Broken Equipment Waiting to be Disposed”
Hopefully the inventory and database system that Matt and I are creating will help Jimma keep track of and better manage equipment.