Five months of "unrelenting" tenacity by a SIGN surgeon has resulted in a new SIGN program in the East African country of Eritrea.
Jessica Hirschhorn, an orthopaedic surgeon in Maryland, first got interested in starting a SIGN program in Eritrea through her colleague, Dr. Chris Walters, who travels yearly to the country with Physicians for Peace. Eritrea is a country of 5 million people with only two orthopaedic surgeons.
"When he told me about Eritrea and its people, and we found out that there has yet to be a SIGN center there, I knew it was the right place and the right time," said Jessica.
The only thing missing, however, was the $20,000 needed to cover the cost of the SIGN instruments and the first shipment of 70 nails and screws.
It was April and Jessica got right to work. She created a 10-minute Power Point presentation about the project and enlisted the help of her husband, Henry Howard, who put together 800 packages to be sent out to possible donors. Each package included a SIGN brochure, a cover letter on the project, a donor card and a self-addressed envelope.
Jessica presented her Power Point to surgeons and medical personnel throughout the region and provided each of them with her promotional package. She mailed a SIGN brochure to every member of the Washington Orthopaedic Society - more than 600 in total.
Bob Schmitt, IT consultant with SIGN, created a website for her project encouraging visitors to donate. Jessica also wrote grant requests to various orthopaedic manufacturers, as well as the Gates Foundation. She succeeded in getting a $4,000 matching grant from Bard Orthopaedics. But she didn't stop there.
"I pestered all of my friends and colleagues, and made the website my "status" on Facebook," she said. "I added the website to my professional and personal e-mail signature. I was unrelenting!"
By October, Jessica had met her goal of $20,000 and soon sent off the first set of instruments, reamers and a case, followed shortly by a second set.
She and Dr. Walters will be leaving for Eritrea on Oct. 22. "We are hand-carrying the nails and screws, along with about 500 pounds of external fixators," she said.
Jessica is understandably excited about starting the new program.
"The people are anxious to learn new things," she said. "They are very industrious and keep their hospitals and operating rooms spotless. They take ownership of the gear that Dr. Walters and his team have left in the past, and the same sets are there, year after year, in excellent condition. Dr. Semere is the doctor who we will be working with at Halibet Hospital. He does most of the trauma surgery."
You can follow the progress of the new Eritrea program by reading Jessica's blog.