Howard Hospital has been administered by The Salvation Army since 1923, serving the medical, social and spiritual needs of the Chiweshe villages and surrounding area. Chiweshe is located approximately 85 kilometers north of Harare in the Mazowe district, and consists of 35 main villages. Large commercial farms surrounding the villages are also served by the hospital. In total, Howard Hospital has a catchment area of more than 250,000 people, predominantly comprised of poor, subsistence farmers.
The hospital has a mission “to serve all those who come to our door seeking medical care. All patients are assessed by trained personnel and given treatment as indicated, without discrimination. We are committed to meeting human needs in a compassionate manner to all those in our care.”
To fulfill its mission, the hospital offers a full range of medical, surgical and community services including inpatient and outpatient care for adults and children, maternity services (2,400 deliveries per year), and antenatal care. Howard Hospital operates a Nursing School, which enables nurses to obtain Primary Care Nurse qualifications, and a Midwifery School for training midwifes. In 2003, the Tariro Clinic opened initiating new programs for tuberculosis treatment and later in 2004, HIV/AIDS antiretroviral therapy. For the past 10 years, the hospital has also been supervising a home-based care program to provide support and care for palliative HIV patients and their families in their homes. The hospital also coordinates community education and microfinance programs in conjunction with local schools, churches and other organizations.
“Howard Hospital has experienced unprecedented stress, challenges and opportunities in the delivery of health care in rural Zimbabwe,” says Dr Paul Thistle, Chief Medical Officer. “Together with the nation, we battle with rampant inflation, foreign currency shortages and a scarcity of professionals, medicines and surgical supplies. All of these concerns seriously undermine daily hospital operations. We have had to find innovative ways of caring for patients, stretching more and more our local and international assistance.”
But despite the challenges, the hospital continues to meet human need. Whereas many other hospitals in the country do not have a single physician, Howard Hospital is supplemented by visiting physicians and volunteers. Given the mass exodus of workers overseas, the hospital’s abilility to attract and retain professional staff is a small miracle in itself.
“By the grace of God, Howard Hospital’s doors remain open to welcome the sick, and in turn, for us to reach out into the community with our messages of prevention, treatment and care,” says Dr Thistle. “We treat medical conditions from A to Z, i.e. anemia to zoster, although HIV/AIDS remains the single largest challenge to our health care delivery at Howard. In Zimbabwe, 1.3 million are living with HIV.”
Howard also operates a mobile HIV treatment clinic to 13 sites across the district. The purpose of the mobile clinic is to provide ongoing support to people coping well with HIV, but who can no longer afford the transportation costs for regular checkups at Howard. In their home-based care programme, there are over 4,000 patients being visited by a network of 700 volunteers. This programme is no longer just palliative care in the villages, but support for groups living with AIDS, plus education and supervision of those on TB and HIV treatment. Volunteers are linked with pastors, rural health clinic nurses and village headmen for a truly community based approach. Their AIDS education programme remains crucial for preventing young people from getting the virus in the first place, using outreach to schools, churches, workplaces and beer halls.
With government funds supplying only 10 percent of their operating costs in 2006, Howard Hospital remains open thanks to ongoing support worldwide. It has been the prayers and pennies of people around the planet that have been their sustaining grace, supplying the daily provisions of the hospital.
“The news from Howard Hospital that we share with the rest of the world is a combination of challenges and opportunities,” concludes Dr Thistle. “We remain focused on our purpose, not our problems in providing quality affordable health care to an underprivileged corner of rural Zimbabwe. Furthermore, all of our resources, every dollar must be invested in the physical, social and spiritual welfare of our people and our community.”
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Donations To Howard Hospital Can Be Made…
In North America, by contacting:
Director of World Missions
The Salvation Army
2 Overlea BLVD
Toronto, ON, Canada
M4H 1P4
Email: Brian_Burditt@can.salvationarmy.org
Please indicate that your donation is specifically for the work of Howard Hospital.
OR
Donate directly to our bank account:
Bank: HSBC Poultry in London
Swift Code: M1DLGB22
Account Name: Reliance Bank
Account Number: 41376543
Reference: FFC to Howard Hospital, Account # 23450087
For further information, please contact the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Paul Thistle at PThistle@healthnet.zw.
