I want to share with you one of the biggest challenges our hospital is facing—and an exciting opportunity to change it.
Every day, premature babies and critically ill patients at Kapsowar depend on oxygen to breathe—but the majority of the hospital cannot currently produce any oxygen of its own.
Nearly every liter of oxygen used outside the operating room arrives in a portable cylinder, filled by one company an hour and a half away. The hospital uses around 200 cylinders each month—and every one eventually runs empty.
When that happens, someone calls our two-person biomedical team. They come to the ward, disconnect the empty cylinder, and replace it with another—assuming another one is available.
Solomon, one of Kapsowar’s two biomedical technicians, carries a replacement oxygen cylinder to a patient.
That last part is what makes the current system so vulnerable.
The company that fills Kapsowar’s cylinders supplies hospitals throughout the county, and it does not always have enough oxygen available. A delayed delivery, a broken-down truck, or a wider shortage can leave the hospital without the supply it needs.
At times this year, our staff have had to urgently borrow cylinders from a smaller nearby facility just to keep oxygen flowing to patients.
At the bedside, Solomon replaces the empty cylinder so the patient can receive oxygen again.
But we now have an opportunity to give Kapsowar something it has never had: a reliable source of oxygen produced right here at the hospital.
African Mission Healthcare has committed approximately $200,000 to provide a new oxygen plant. It will produce up to 300 liters of oxygen per minute and pipe it directly into the wards.
The plant itself, however, is only one part of the system. It needs a permanent building and dependable electricity. Our current generator is 15 years old, requires significant repairs, and has already failed during patient care.
A representative image of the new oxygen plant and the housing for it.
The full system will cost $120,000. We’re committing the first $40,000 so construction can begin, and inviting our community to help raise the remaining $80,000 by December 31.
Here’s what the project includes:
$41,000 for the oxygen plant housing and generator buildings
$57,000 for two new generators
$22,000 for piping, cabling, site work, and other installation needs
Reliable oxygen can help premature babies and critically ill patients through the most fragile hours.
And sometimes, it is the difference between a family carrying their loved one home or leaving the hospital without them.
We’re grateful to African Mission Healthcare for providing the plant, and grateful to everyone who helps make a dependable oxygen supply possible for Kapsowar.