All eyes focus on missionary surgeon Danny Crawley as he navigates an obstacle course of beds and sick children at the Baptist Medical Centre in Nalerigu, Ghana.
With only one other doctor, a handful of assistants and volunteers working that day, a "doctor sighting" is a significant moment to those desperate for medical attention. While making his rounds, Crawley tends to as many patients as possible before prepping for surgery. The others will have to wait.
Understaffed and overwhelmed by the daily influx of patients, the hospital struggles to fill an empty position and attract volunteers while meeting the physical and spiritual needs of patients. In 2005, the hospital saw more than 72,000 patients and performed more than 3,500 major and minor surgeries. The staff hopes more Southern Baptists will respond soon.
"Even if I stop and pray with a patient, I feel like I’m slowing down the process," said Crawley, who sets aside one day a week with his wife, Mary Jane, to share Bible stories in area villages. "But, if we’re not letting them know that we’re helping them in the name of Christ, what is the point of it?"
Without four doctors on staff, the hospital is unable to maintain a consistent ministry presence among the villages in the area. It hasn’t always been this way for the hospital that each year attracts thousands of people from four different countries.
Nearly three years ago, everything seemed to be falling into place for the hospital staff.
A promising, 47-year-old doctor named Janette Shackles had come on board to reduce the demanding workload of the hospital’s three doctors. The addition boosted the morale of a worn-out staff.
"She had a wonderful ministry, and she related so well to the patients," said former hospital administrator Patricia Friesen. "Our doctors were making the work schedules more manageable. They were even having time to do outside evangelistic ministries, which they each have a desire to do."
But tragedy changed all of that when Shackles died in a traffic accident June 9, 2003. She was on her way back to the hospital with medical supplies when an oncoming vehicle hit her truck.
"It was devastating," Friesen said. "It was just a difficult time. It really was, besides the personal loss of losing a colleague, but also the impact of how we had finally gotten more positions."
Today, with the three remaining doctors, some on staff wonder if the gap left by Shackles will ever be filled. The long hours and daily stress continue to take their toll on all involved.
"It’s always been hard with long hours and hard work," said George Faile, who has been a physician at the hospital for 17 years. "(But) this is the first time in a couple years that I’ve wondered if maybe God had something else for me."
Strong words from a man whose father, George Faile, started the hospital nearly 50 years ago. Since then, the elder Faile has passed away. A monument on the facility’s front lawn honors his work. Faile refers to his father as a "big inspiration" in his life. He said he still desires to finish the work to which God has called him. "I feel like I have a lot invested here," he said.
Hospital administration recognizes the doctors need more time off and more time for ministry opportunities in area villages. Providing quality care, however, brings huge responsibility. Turning a patient away isn’t an option. "Do we tell them, ‘You came too far, go back to where you came from?’" asked Frie-sen. "Where will (they) go?"
On a typical clinic day at the hospital, hundreds of people make their way onto the property. In the crowd, people are afflicted with malaria, snakebites, various skin diseases, heart problems, AIDS and just about everything else. Some lie on the ground, some sit slumped on benches, while others stand for hours. None of them will be sent away before someone on the medical staff sees them.
Volunteers such as Doug and Alice Parkin from Casa Grande, Ariz., help make this possible. The Parkins often take a couple months off a year from their own medical work to assist the hospital through malaria season. "The physicians are just so exhausted," said Doug Parkin, a doctor at a group practice and member of Grace Baptist Church, Casa Grande, Ariz.
"When you come as a volunteer, the doctors are able to deal with more serious problems, and you can help with the more mundane things like malaria, (tuberculosis) and diarrhea. … This hospital is a light in a pretty desperate part of the world."
For more information, call the International Mission Board at 1-800-999-3113. (IMB)
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