Pecs, Hungary: Installing the Equipment

By Ray Schmidt

Dr. Adamovich is an extremely grateful man. Today he shook my hand and thanked me in his broken English on four different occasions. He thanked the other team members as well. As the director of the neonatal ICU he can't believe all the equipment that was donated for his unit. He was particularly overwhelmed when he saw the new incubator. During the incubator training class for the nurses he couldn't help but jump in and press the buttons and explain all the features of the machine. It was nice to sit back and watch this man, who has dedicated so much time and effort into helping infants, receive a Christmas-like gift. Even though it is for the hospital and all the infants that will benefit from it, the incubator is also a blessing for him.

At one point during the incubator training given by Dr. David Kasting, he pointed out a feature that he called the "baby Susan" because it was like a "lazy Susan" that you see in kitchen cabinets. It allows nurses to rotate the baby inside the incubator so they can access the baby more easily. The ten or so nurses let out an audible, "Ahhhhh," followed by a few small claps.

Later he demonstrated how the incubator can be lowered or raised depending on the size of the nurse. There was this nurse who was just a little over four feet tall that was so delighted with this feature. She could now reach the baby without having to reach above her head.

As we were leaving after a day of training and installation, Dr. Adomovich came into our work room and asked if he could take the baby bassinets. The new bassinets were donated by GE and they are beautiful. We had finished assembling them but hadn't cleaned them yet. He didn't want to wait until tomorrow, so he rolled them out of the room. When I left they were being cleaned and readied for infants. I am anxious to see what they look like in the infant rooms.

I always like these days when the equipment is set up and the training is going on and there is excitement on the faces of the nurses and doctors. Tomorrow, when patients are hooked up to the monitors or placed in the warmers, it will be even better.

I should note here that yesterday we located a very good ice cream parlor in Pecs. I'm sure our bus driver thinks we're a bit odd when after dinner we asked him to drive us downtown to the ice cream place. The temperature was just above freezing, it was kind of late, but the ice cream beckoned and we followed. I think we won him over when we invited him to join us. Good ice cream is always a great way to end a day.

God Bless,

Ray

Pecs, Hungary

Ray Schmidt - November 4th,


Pecs (Hungary) is a beautiful city. The team and I arrived yesterday after a three hour bus ride from the Budapest airport. The city dates back 2,000 years and the wall that surrounded the old city is still intact in many areas. A cathedral with four large towers dominates the town center and when lit up at night has an other-worldly glow to it.



Our host for this project is the Pecs Rotary Club and they have treated us well. They took us on a tour this morning of the city including a recently opened UNESCO World Heritage site. The city is built upon layer after layer of ruins dating back millennia and we were able to look at some of the old elaborate tombs. The Rotary club president and his English-speaking daughter then hosted us for dinner and we had a very enjoyable 4-hour meal. No such thing as quick bite to eat, but it was a great time.


November 5th,

We began setting up the medical equipment for the Pediatric Hospital of Pecs at 7:30 AM. Yesterday afternoon we toured the hospital to get an idea of what to expect for today. I was impressed with the hospital. It is operated very well and the doctors and nurses are knowledgeable and experienced. One of the hospital's larger problems is that they are understaffed in the neonatal intensive Care unit (NICU). In the USA there is typically a 3:1 ratio of nurse to infants, but if the infant is in very critical condition than the ratio is 2:1 or even 1:1.

Not here.

The ratio at the hospital is 6:1 in the NICU and there are some very severely ill infants. The nurses are constantly going back and forth between babies trying to keep up. The hospital also has a real need for additional medical equipment. Although they have some patient monitors, infant warmers and incubators, it's not nearly enough to handle all the infants in their care. Dr. Adamovich, who is in charge of the NICU, is anxious to get the equipment and installed so he can begin using it on patients. We expect to have patients on the monitors and in the incubators and warmers by tomorrow afternoon.

The team from Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital is doing a great job. The team is made of Sam Downing, CEO of SVMH, and his wife Paula; Brad Carrott, Director of Biomedical Engineering at SVMH; Annette Schuessler, director of ICU; Dr. David Kasting, neonatalogist, and his wife Anna, who is a nurse; Sue Marscellas, Marketing and Public Relations at SVMH; Mike Profuma, healthcare consultant, and his wife Judy. This morning we all jumped in to get the equipment ready. We had 14 patient monitors, 2 warmers, 1 incubator, 1 defibrillator, 4 bassinets, and all the accessories. The training begins tomorrow and we had to have most of the equipment set up for the first training session.

We did have a minor problem--the power cords were not right. They were European cords but they needed a right angle on the part that connected to the monitor. The hospital engineer and I jumped into his car and took off. It was like being in a rally car race. He would weave his way through backstreets and around cars. At a traffic light he would punch the accelerator hard to the floor and his little Peugot would dart down the street only to slam on the brakes at the next light. We ended up going to four stores but we finally found what we needed and then it was an all out race back to the finish line at the hospital. It was as good as any roller coaster ride.


God bless,
Ray Schmidt

Haircut, Haagen Daz and Hungary

Ray Schmidt, Operations Director and Vice President

This morning before leaving for the San Francisco airport, I had my hair cut by a local barber. Later that afternoon (plus a travel day) I was eating my favorite Haagen Daz ice cream at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam--Forest Berry Cream. By evening I was sitting in my hotel room in Budapest, Hungary checking emails.

It's just amazing to me that I can wake up in Ripon, California one morning and fall asleep in Budapest, Hungary later that evening. I know, I lose a day in there because I'm flying east, but you get the idea.

I am going to have to work on my aisle seat scowl because it failed me today. I always prefer the aisle seat on a plane so I don't have to wake anybody up in order to stand up and walk a little. If I do have a window seat I always follow proper airline seat decorum. I will wait until my neighbors have to get up and then I too will get out of my seat so that I won't disturb them later. And under no circumstances would I wake a sleeping neighbor. And I would never think of excusing myself if my neighbors were eating.

But today, my row mates were either inexperienced travelers (although they were 70+) or they had not been taught proper seat etiquette. As soon as the flight left San Francisco, I fell asleep, which I understand is quite a gift. However, less than hour into the flight, I am dreaming that the Middle Seat Man, is walking over the top of me. It startled me and then I nearly knocked the man over as I sat up and realized that he actually stood up on his seat, stepped over me and put his slipper-clad feet (that's another story) on my arm rest, which is what awakened me, and then jumped to the floor. He gave me a sheepish smile and pardoned himself in German and I gave him the look I give my kids when they do something that is inappropriate--a combination scowl and look of utter disbelief.

It didn't stop there. He returns and I fall asleep and 30 minutes later, someone is tapping me on the shoulder. This time Window Seat Woman (wife of Middle Seat Man), needs to get out. I am polite and stand up to let her out. Now, this is no exaggeration, I sit back down with Middle Seat Man and two minutes later he wants out, so I stand up again. I am now in full-scowl mode, but he never sees it because he doesn't look back at me. A few minutes later I see the two of them returning and I stand up and allow them to get in, but only Window Seat Woman wants to get in. Her husband wants to walk the aisle for awhile. So I sit back down and a few minutes later Middle Seat Man taps me on the shoulder and wants back in.

I ended up standing up and allowing one or both of them to pass four more times during the flight, including once during a meal. I know they noticed my scowl on at least two of those occasions, but I think they enjoyed toying with me. I'm pretty confident that I caught a gleam passing between their eyes once. I think they were actually seasoned travelers who enjoyed playing this game with their row mates.

So I did not get my usual 6 hours of plane sleep but I did make it to Budapest. Tomorrow morning (Saturday) I'll meet a medical team from Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital at the Budapest airport and then we'll drive three hours south to Pecs, where we will be installing a patient monitoring system at Pecs Pediatric Hospital. We will also be training the hospital staff how to use and maintain the equipment.

God bless,

Ray Schmidt

The A.I. Warehouse & 'Hungry Green' Walls

The last time we connected I was sitting at the Talapia Beach, "half-of-a-star" Resort in Kisumu, Kenya.

Today I'm sitting in Pappas Bar-B-Q in Houston, Texas extolling the virtues of Assist International to a group of pastors who have gathered for a ministerial conference. I'm trying to engage them in the stories and drama of good people locked in poverty, trying to meet the basic needs of their family, lacking basic health care, some even orphaned and abandoned. In short I'm trying to get them excited enough to help support Assist International and it's efforts to fulfill the command of Christ to 'Go into all the world". I'd like to get them to fund at least "a cup of cold water" in His name, through Assist International of course.

Why Assist? For one, 97% or all donations goes straight to the need for which it was given. Less than 3% percent goes to administrate the gift.

So I'm in the middle of my stories when my phone rings.... It's my wife Cheri. She's just driven by the Distribution Center we are building in California's Central Valley and she wants to know why the stucco wall panels are "Hunter Green". Hunter Green? I say, please tell me no. Early on Bob said he wanted the trim to be "Hungry Green". For those of you who are familiar with Bob's infamous "pagettism" this translates to "Hunter Green". Hunter Green is a fine color for building trim, but I fear a Hunter Green building has to be criminal. I'm not sure anyone has ever been crazy enough to paint an entire building hunter green. I once had a neighbor who painted their house trim "Crest Blue" like the tooth paste. Again, trim is one thing, but the entire 24,000 square feet? That's about 20,000 square feet of over bearing hunter green walls. Can you say, "problems with your neighbors?"

As tears came to my eyes and I fumbled for my steak knife to end it all, she let me know she was joking. Maybe if I stayed home more she'd take it easier on me. I love her!!!

Relieved I get on the phone and find that the construction of the warehouse is coming along fine. The fund raising letters have yielded dismal returns and the need remains "great", but at least the walls aren't green. Now I can't wait to get to Ripon and see for myself that the walls are "Warm White" like they're supposed to be. Then I'll kiss the ground, take my dirty lips home and kiss my wife like she deserves. I miss her.

Until later,

Tim

Kisumu, Keyna: Tilapia for Lunch

The humanitarian field does have its moments of subtle reward.

I began this blog from the Tilapia Beach Resort in Kisumu, Kenya. The Tilapia Beach isn't your typical resort. You won't find it in any travel magazines and good luck finding a web site for it, that would require electricity.

I'm taking a lunch break from hospital assessments in Kisumu. I've already been to Siaya and Yala Hospitals, which support clusters of villages. These hospitals have become a part of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals for Africa, an ambitious effort to wipe out extreme poverty by 2025. Bono (of U2) is the mouth piece and renown economist Jeffery Sachs from the Earth Institute at Colombia University in New York is the architect of the plan. General Electric has signed on to fund the Hospital refurbishment and Assist International has been enlisted to provide logistics and project management.

This is where I come in. It's my job to travel for 36 hours to places barely on the map, crawl through the attics of hospitals looking at infrastructure and photograph tons of hospital equipment new and old in an effort to see how they can be helped to reach the next level of care. In a few hours I will meet my subcontractors at Nyanza Referral Hospital, known to the locals as "Russian" Hospital because they built it several decades ago.

While I wait for that meeting I have decided to ask a "Took Took" driver for a restaurant recommendation. A took took, is a three wheeled sardine can with a canvas lid, powered by a vespa motor from yesteryear, which doubles as a taxi cab for those who can't afford an actual taxi. The took took driver, who probably hasn't ever had the money to go to a restaurant, especially one frequented my "muzungu's" (White people) suggests the Tilapia Beach Resort.

Resort? Now that sounds nice.

Ten minutes ago the road ran out of black top and the hotels turned to bamboo walled, dirt floored huts sans doors. Sans every amenity actually. Each hut has a wooden sign with the words "hotel" painted on it. Still my faith holds out because hidden gems sometimes lie at the end of a hard road. At least this is what I tell myself.

The Tilapia Beach consists of nine thatch roofed cabana's on the banks of Lake Victoria, set back just far enough that a crocodile can't bum rush you from the bull rushes. My first mistake upon settling into my plastic chair was to ask for a menu. The waiter laughed and I realized this was the second sign of "I ain't from around these parts is I".

"Menu?!" He asked quizzically. Yes, I respond, so I can see what you have to eat today. Again he laughs and says follow me. Dutifully I fall in behind the waiter who takes me to an open grill piled high with, guess what? The only thing on their menu, Tilapia. (Tilapia is the common name for many species of cichlid fish, like those shown above)

It's projects like this where medical equipment, otherwise out of reach to local hospitals, is provided through Assist International that makes gruelling travel and questionable accommodations well worth it. Whether the project is funded by a major corporation in conjunction with the United Nations, or by a local church or service club like Rotary, putting the tools to save the lives of women and children who would otherwise die or be physically impaired for the rest of their lives is a great feeling.

I wish I could take all of you along some time to see exactly what it is you accomplish when you team up with Assist International to care for those who can not care for themselves. Maybe, I humbly submit, I can help take you there through the blogs, until you can free yourself up to come along.

No matter the case, thanks for your consistent support of Assist International and our medical and orphan child projects. Without you it just couldn't happen. With you and God, there are no limits.

Until next time,

Tim