To the editor:
On behalf of the Sihanouk Hospital Center of HOPE (SHCH) and the patients and their families we serve, I want to personally thank the Houlton community for your continued support for the last seven years which has totaled more than $17,000. The SHCH needs the support of caring individuals like you in order to save the lives of those patients who, without our support, would have nowhere to turn for their medical treatment. In 2012 we were able to provide almost 50,000 free patient consultations.
Currently the SHCH’s Emergency Department is operating Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The hospital’s Medical and Surgical Wards and Chronic Care Facility are open 24 hours daily with a total of 28 active beds for patients who are critically ill. Additionally, the SHCH provides uninterrupted care and treatment to a cohort of more than 3,000 HIV-positive patients, while continuing to perform screening and follow-up Directly Observed Treatment, Short-course (DOTS) to a population of approximately 40 TB infected patients daily.
While providing care and treatment, our senior Cambodian staff also provide training and mentoring to younger medical staff to better equip them as physicians. The hospital’s training program continues to be strongly supported by SHCH’s highly qualified international medical volunteers, including your hometown physician, Dr. Ted Sussman.
Please read our newsletter on www.sihosp.org which highlights some of the exciting work we have accomplished in the areas of prevention, treatment, and training over the past few months. Your contribution will be utilized to support these activities, as well as our plans to scale up our clinical activities in the upcoming months.
Once again thank you very much for graciously choosing the Sihanouk Hospital Center of HOPE as your partner. The contributions from each individual in Houlton are making a huge difference in the lives of patients here in Cambodia. If you are visiting Phnom Penh, please come to the hospital for a visit. We deeply appreciate your significant and sustained support.
Don Fetherman,
executive director
Sihanouk Hospital Center
of HOPE
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
