Karanda Mission Hospital
Mt. Darwin, Zimbabwe
Hospital Website
Mission Organization
The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM)
Minimum Time Requirement
Due to visa regulations, the hospital asks that you come for a minimum and maximum of 29 days.
Profile
Karanda Mission Hospital is located in Mt. Darwin, Zimbabwe, about 200 km north of Harare. Three American and Canadian physicians and one American physician's assistant run the hospital. It is a 150-bed hospital that is typically about 90% full.
Travel
Fly by commercial air to Harare, Zimbabwe. Stay one or two days at TEAM guesthouse in Harare for orientation and shopping. Be driven by hospital affiliate to Karanda on day three (hospital is located about 200 KM north of Harare).
Time Difference
+6 hours daylight saving time, +7 hours Eastern Standard Time
Language
English and Shona. Ndebele is also spoken, but not required and not known by many of the nationals in the area around Karanda. Occasionally, a patient from Mozambique will speak Portuguese.
Climate
Mid-November to mid-April is wet and hot (86–104 degrees Fahrenheit)–rainy season. Mid-April to mid-August is cold and dry. Mid-August to mid-November is hot and dry.
Common Disease—Malaria
Prophylaxis is strongly recommended.
Charting
English
Community Health Programs
Baby clinics, home-based care, orphan care, goat project for feeding babies with HIV positive mothers, Opportunistic Infection Clinic, community health training and outlying government clinics.
Dentistry
Extractions only.
Emergency Services
Termed “Outpatient Department” at Karanda. Functions similar to a casualty/ER.
Nursing School
There are 65 students enrolled. Nursing students set up and lead programs in local schools.
Physical Therapy
There is one rehabilitation technician at the hospital.
Pathology
FBC, Na, K, BUN, Creatinine, AST, HepB, AFB, CSF, Stools O&P, Stool Occult Blood, Urinalysis, Pregnancy tests, HIV, CD4, Malaria (rapid and parasite slide), type and cross match, bleeding time, C&S- basic.
Radiology
There are fixed and portable X-rays available. There is one X-ray tech. No contrast studies are done at this hospital. Doctors with limited training perform ultrasound, but results have proven fair to very good.
Teaching
Teaching opportunities exist at the Nursing School and the Midwifery School. Karanda is affiliated with the University of Zimbabwe and helps to train their surgical residents who rotate for three months at a time to Karanda and also takes their medical students on rotation. Visiting short-term volunteers are expected to teach on rounds and in the classroom, which is equipped with a screen and LCD projector.
