Lifebox

One of the gratifying things about becoming involved in international missions is the number of people you meet involved in other programs.  The number and magnitude of the problems can be overwhelming, but becoming involved does not mean that you have to solve all of them.  In fact, it may not be possible for any individual to solve any of them.  However, many different organizations teamed up with the local populations are managing to make an impact.  I would like to continue to draw attention to some of the people and programs that are active here in Shisong.

Lifebox (www.Lifebox.org) is a program founded by the World Congress of Anesthesiologists and and the World Health Organization and promoted particularly by the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.  In many developing countries there is a serious deficit of anesthesia safety and a high incidence of morbidity and mortality related to anesthesia and surgery.  There is a significant relationship to maternal, infant, and child mortality as these populations are disproportionately impacted by the needs and the deficits in availability of expert care.  There are numerous causes of these problems, not the least is a lack of trained personnel.  However, in trying to identify problems that can actually be addressed, the WCA and the WHO identified the availability of monitoring, particularly pulse oximetry, as an area that can be addressed in an organized way.  Lifebox seeks to make pulse oximetry available in operating rooms world wide, as well as to promote the use of the Surgery Safety Checklist (http://www.who.int/patientsafety/safesurgery/ss_checklist/en/) and education in other areas related to safe surgery.

In the small world category, it turns out that the anesthetist leading much of the work of Lifebox is a nurse anesthetist here in Shisong, Mr. Benson Nfon Tanjong. Additionally, Dr. Falan Mouton from our residency program at the University of Rochester, currently on a rotation here in Shisong, has become a leader in the Lifebox organization at the level of involvement of residency programs in fundraising.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was able to participate in the Lifebox distribution program in early October in Yaounde at the National Congress of Anesthesia and Critical Care.  At this program, one hundred pulse oximeters were distributed along with checklists.  Below, you see Mr. Benson presenting the Lifebox workshop and me passing out pulse oximeters at the end of the session.