The SIM Galmi Hospital exists to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ by demonstrating His love to those who are in need of medical care. Due to socio-economic and cultural barriers, many of our patients arrive at the hospital in the advanced stages of illness, resulting in limited treatment options.
Inpatient Treatment
The SIM Galmi Hospital’s Medical Ward has 58 beds with nearly 10,000 admissions each year. This treatment unit is staffed by a great team of Nigerien nurses and nurse aides, along with five long-term expatriate volunteer doctors. Common conditions which require hospitalization include malaria, severe anemia, TB, urinary retention, stroke, tetanus, organ failure, pneumonia, etc.
Find out how you can volunteer to be a part of our medical team.
Outpatient Services
Our medical outpatient clinic cares for around 1000 patients each week. When our patients arrive at the clinic, they are screened by a Nigerien nurse. Minor cases, such as chronic but well controlled diabetes or hypertension, are managed by our clinic staff. Patients with more complicated needs are referred to one of our doctors.
That’s the worst case of Whatever-It-Is I’ve ever seen!
While some diagnoses are very straight forward, there are other times when a patient’s symptoms don’t match a typical clinical presentation. To help combat this, we suggest that our volunteer staff brush up on tropical medicine and dermatology before coming to visit.
Laboratory Services
On an average weekday, our hospital laboratory will run about 200 tests for our patients who are hospitalized or being seen in the clinic. Our facility is run by four Nigerien lab technicians and a data entry clerk.
In addition to basic testing, our lab maintains an emergency blood bank. We keep this stocked by requiring donation of a unit of blood for each elective, scheduled, non-urgent surgical procedure that is done. Every donated unit of blood is then screened to be negative for HIV, hepatitis, and syphilis.
We are looking for qualified volunteers to come for varying lengths of time in order to oversee and increase the capacity of our laboratory staff. This includes qualified pathologists, laboratory technicians, microbiologists and phlebotomists. Click here for more information on volunteering at Galmi Hospital.
Pharmacy Services
Our hospital pharmacy services all of our inpatient wards and outpatient clinics. With two full time expatriate pharmacists and 11 additional staff, our pharmacy is one of Galmi Hospitals busiest departments. In the outpatient department alone, they fill an average of 1000 prescriptions each day.
The pharmacy keeps 400 necessary medications, as well as IV solution, nutritional products, medical and surgical supplies, lab reagents, and other materials stocked in order to provide the best care possible to our patients. While we try to source as many medications and materials from within Niger as possible, the limited resources available require that we continue to rely on outside sources for 80% of the pharmacy’s supply.
Donations are accepted and appreciated, however we cannot accept expired medications and there are some types of equipment or materials that we do not need. For further information on what types of medication or materials we do accept, please contact us.
TB and HIV Treatment
In 2016 we diagnosed and counseled 755 new cases of Tuberculosis (TB) in our center. We use sputum tests and chest X-rays to diagnosis TB. If a patient is found to be positive for TB, he or she is referred to our Nigerien counselor who educates the patient on their condition and the transmission of TB to those with whom they are in close contact. We prescribe free medication which is provided by the Nigerien government. Patients then follow up with our clinic for six months.
Chaplaincy Services
While ministering to human need through medical care is one of the primary purposes of Galmi Hospital, sharing the Good News with those who have not heard is another core aspect of the hospital’s mission. All the volunteers and staff are encouraged to be a witness to Christ, but the hospital also has a dedicated evangelism department with personnel charged with sharing the gospel throughout the hospital. The evangelism department is currently composed of 5 full-time Nigerien chaplains.
Join Our Team
Our hope is to have more long term doctors on the Pediatrics team who, compelled by God’s great love and empowered by the Holy Spirit, will join us as
* We cross barriers to proclaim the crucified and risen Christ, expressing His love and compassion among those who live and die without Him
* We make disciples who will trust and obey Jesus, and become part of Christ-centered churches
* We work together with churches to fulfill God’s mission across cultures locally and globally
* We facilitate the participation in cross-cultural ministry of those whom God is calling.