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Western graduates push for better health care in CameroonJul 11, 2013 (La Crosse Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Lee Rasch was careful not to forget the laptops on his recent trip to Africa. And the teeth. He remembered the 2,600 teeth donated by local dentists. The president of Western Technical College spent 14 days in Cameroon last month, bringing a bevy of supplies and a desire to help three nuns who earned degrees at Western and now work at a convent-run hospital in Shisong. Along the way, Rasch learned about the progress they've made -- and the progress that needs to happen. "Can technology help?" Rasch said. "Can information help? I think it can." St. Elizabeth's Hospital in northwestern Cameroon serves as a flagship facility in a health care system that includes cardiac and dentistry centers, and clinics in nearby villages. Health care is a rare commodity in Cameroon, and St. Elizabeth's in Shisong is widely known for its quality, said Sister Georgia Christensen of the La Crosse-based Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. Christensen serves with Rasch in the La Crosse Area Friends of Cameroon. The group raised money to buy technology for the hospital. Even before the hospital's cardiac center was built, it "had one of the best reputations in the country," Christensen said. The local Friends of Cameroon group is not associated with Western. It's a private organization dedicated to fundraising and support, including footing tuition for the three visiting nuns from the Tertiary Sisters of St. Francis, who run the Cameroon hospital. Sister Mark Verjai came to Western to study dental assisting in 1999. Now, she works six days a week and assists on oral surgeries, Rasch said. More recently, Sisters Virgilia Zamah and Kathleen Shela finished computer networking degrees at Western. They returned to Cameroon last year to help with technology initiatives. One of the goals is to network the local hospitals and set up an electronic filing system for patient records. Western students built a network server for the system, but it still needs to be wired and maintained. As for the teeth, they went to the dental clinic. The laptops should help with the push to get networked and online, but the nuns still need about 20 more, Rasch estimates. "It does put things in perspective," Rasch said. ___ (c)2013 the La Crosse Tribune (La Crosse, Wis.) Visit the La Crosse Tribune (La Crosse, Wis.) at www.lacrossetribune.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |