After the COSECSA meeting early December 2024, in Harare, PAACS EVP, Keir Thelander, along with Drs. Jason Fader and Tim Love, made a site visit to Mukinge Mission Hospital, Kasempa, Zambia, to assess the hospital’s readiness to become a PAACS training site in General Surgery. Dr. Sean Reimer, General Surgeon, welcomed the team as if they were dignitaries, transporting them the 10 hours to Mukinge Mission Hospital.
The beautiful campus is located in the North-western province, having been founded in July 1953, now developed into a level two status (General Hospital) in Zambia. Being overseen by the Evangelical Church in Zambia and strongly collaborated with SIM, Mukinge Mission Hospital has a strong spiritual ministry, holding to their vision “To be a nationally and internationally recognized mission hospital in the provision of Spiritual and Quality Health care that is anchored on Christian principles and to create healthy communities that know and serve Christ.”
Mukinge Mission Hospital is a well-established mission hospital with a robust spiritual ministry. Surgical service growth continues with the addition of Sean Reimer (General Surgeon) in July 2024, Chipo Luundu (General Surgeon) and Armia Samuel (General Surgeon, PAACS Grad) in December 2024, to the team anchored by Dr. David Friend (Generalist) for about 20 years. The hospital delivers care to the least of these, providing essentially free surgical services to the majority of patients in their now five operating rooms. PAACS’ team recommendations include development of cohesion among the surgical team, in addition to certain space allocations necessary for education. We look forward to seeing the Lord at work in this growing collaboration to hopefully culminate in a robust General Surgery training program.
- Keir Thelander, MD, FACS, FWACS, FCS (ECSA) Executive Vice President
