Baptist Medical Centre

On Thursday night, 12 November 2009 Moses Alando Banaba was on his way home from work at the hospital when he was attacked and shot three times with a high power rifle. He was taken to the hospital in shock and did not survive. Anyone who has been at BMC in the past twenty years should have met Alando in the pharmacy. He has been an important and respected part of the hospital. He has been a good friend to many of us through the years. Most recently he has been in charge of the pharmacy and a part of the management team.

He has also been active in the community, formerly teaching at the high school and running for political office. He will be greatly missed by his family, the community, the hospital and all of us who knew him.

Please pray for Alando’s family, for the hospital staff and for the community.

This summer at BMC has been busy. As usual we have continued to have a number of volunteers. It has been interesting and fun to have people from different countries and different backgrounds. Each person has added to the character of BMC and each one has contributed to the ministry provided. Below are the vlounteers that have come to BMC during the past several months. They are listed in no particular order.

Amy is a family Nurse Practitioner who is currently at BMC. She came for four months and has been a big help.

Andy is a final year medical student from England. This is his second trip to work at BMC.

Anita is a Nurse Practitioner and Bob is a pastor in a church in California. They came and worked with us for several weeks.

Danielle is a final year Dutch medical student who spent two months with us. We enjoyed having her with us.

Deborah is a Swiss medical student who spent about a month working with us.

Dr. Norman returned to work with us for a short time. Dr. Norman is a former missionary and has been to Nalerigu several times. He is a gynecologist and enjoys doing VVF repairs when he comes.

Dr. Miller is a Pediatrician who comes to us through Samaritan’s Purse. He will soon be leaving BMC after two months. He has been a big help during our busy malaria season. He reported seeing 192 patients during a recent clinic.

Dr. Chupp is a pediatrician from Alabama. He and his wife Shirley and daughter Hannah came to work with us for a couple of weeks. It was the Chupp’s first trip to BMC but maybe not their last.

Dr. Kirby returned to BMC this year and was a big help with surgery and in clinic. Dr. Kirby is a physician from Canada who has been coming to Ghana for several years. Debbie is a nurse practitioner who came with him on her first trip to BMC.

Dr. Jones is a third year surgery resident who has been to BMC in the past. He has been a big help in the surgery department. Megan is learning Mampruli and is trying to get a library set up in town. They are presently in Nalerigu and hope to stay until sometime in December.

Dr. Conarro is a surgeon from Dahlonega, GA who made a return trip to Nalerigu. This year he was accompanied by his children, Kyle, Kelly and Ryan and his son-in-law, Paul Woody. They were in Nalerigu for only a short time, but we enjoyed having them and their help.

Dr. Shumpert returned to BMC and as always was a big help. He and his wife Dr. Cindy Shumpert continue to big big supporters of BMC through the Faile Foundation. Dr. Paul works in the emergency room in Rome, GA.

Dr. Shetty is a third year ER resident from California. He came for several weeks and was a great help in clinic and on rounds.

Dr. Morchi is an ER physician from California who has been on a number of volunteer trips to other hospitals in Africa. this was his first trip to BMC. He spent most of his time in the OR trying to improve his surgery skills.

Dr. Emerson is an OB/Gyn from Arkansas. This was his first mission trip and he worked very hard and was a big help. Melinda works with Pure Joy International. She brought craft supplies and worked with some of the women in the area.

Dr. Sadighi is a pediatric neurology fellow at UT Houston. She returned for a three week visit and was a big help teaching and seeing patients.

Dr. Gordon Laird, a general surgeon came with his daughter Sommer and her husband Justin. They were in Nalerigu only a short time but we appreciate the help Dr. Laird was able to provide by doing surgery for us.

Marshall is a third year medical student who came with Dr. Laird.

Gayle is a fourth year medical Student who also came with Dr. Laird.

Erin is a graduate student in music therapy. she came with Vicki Barnes and her team. Erin helped in and around the hospital in various ways. We enjoyed having Erin with us for a few days.

James is a final year medical student from England who worked with us for about a month. He not only helped out in the hospital, but also helped repair our internet connection when we had problems.

Jodi was a fourth year medical student who came with Dr. Sadighi for two weeks.

Rachel was a fourth year medical student who has since started her residency. She spent a month with us in April.

Rev. Shoulders is a retired Navy chaplain. We enjoyed his visit with us as he worked with the hospital chaplains and shared with the missionary staff.

Tiffany and Jenny were both fourth year medical students. They did not come together but were both in Nalerigu during most of the month of July. They both did well and we enjoyed having them with us.

Tommy and Vicki came for a few days and we enjoyed their visit. Vicki has been working for a long time with the Ghana Bandage Project and she was with us shortly after our latest container of supplies arrived (see earlier post). Tommy spent time with Tommy Harrison in the villages.

Yaar and Hadassah are Jewish medical students who spent a month with us. We were able to learn from them and it was a pleasure to have them with us. They did well adapting to American and Ghanaian culture.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the character and ministry of Baptist Medical Centre this summer. We wish each of you the very best and hope to see at least some if not all of you back some day.

After nearly 18 years as pharmacist at baptist Medical Centre, Dr. Jane Paysinger left Nalerigu. She will be missed and we wish her all the best in her new endeavors. Hospital staff and missionaries gave her a send off during the week before she left.

First there was a football match between the hospital women and teachers from the local secondary school.


Later a delegation went with Dr. Paysinger to say goodbye to the Nayiri, who is the paramount chief for the Mamprusi people.

Later, there was an official farewell where there were speeches, dancing and gifts.





First Baptist Church also had a special farewell service for Dr. Paysinger.

Nalerigu station also had a farewell dinner and gifts for her.

Dr. Paysinger left Nalerigu with several new outfits and several citations/plaques. She is now living and working in Tennessee.

In Early June of this year another container of supplies, bandages and envelopes arrived at BMC. For several years now Vicki Barnes has been heading up the Bandage Project. She and her volunteers from Tabernacle Baptist Church in Cartersville, Georgia always work hard to see that the containers are packed and ready for shipment. This year Vicki and her husband Tommy were in Nalerigu soon after the container arrived. They were able to help unload, unpack and sort through some of the many barrels that came.

We greatly appreciate all the hard work everyone puts in to see the project succeed. And we appreciate the support of Tabernacle Baptist Church. And of course the hundreds of people across the country who tear sheets and roll bandages are the ones who make the project possible. Thanks to everyone!!

Thanks to Tommy and Vicki Barnes, Erin Potter and Shirley Chupp for their help in unpacking, sorting and storing the contents of the barrels. We enjoyed having you with us for a short time.

Amy Pennington is a final year pharmacy student who came and worked with us for several weeks. We enjoyed having her and wish her all the best as she begins her residency at Vanderbilt University.

Dr. Alan Heins and his wife Kaye spent several weeks with us. This was a return trip for them and we appreciate their continued interest and support. Alan is a family practitioner and Kaye is a Family Nurse Practitioner so they both worked in clinic and made rounds as well as helping with minor procedures.

Dr. Dewey Dunn and Dr. Roy Renfro also returned to work with us for several weeks. As usual it was a pleasure to have them and we appreciated their help and support. Dr. Dunn is a gastroenterologist and Dr. Renfro is a retired surgeon. They both worked very hard and were a big help. Dr. Renfro celebrated his 79th birthday while here!

Dr. Fred Rushton, a surgeon from Jackson, MS and Dr. Robert Battle, an anesthesiologist from Jackson returned for another visit. They came with Will Cauthen and Jessica Gullung, fourth year medical students and Taylor Byrd, a fourth year college student. Robert’s wife Debbie also came and cooked for the team. They all worked hard and did a lot for us during their time here.

Dr. Neuman is a third year family medicine resident. She spent several weeks with us and was a lot of help in clinic, making rounds and taking call. We don’t know how much help we were to her in preparing to go to Alaska after residency, but hope she learned some things that will be useful wherever she goes.

Dr. Kaufman is a fourth year emergency medicine resident from Cincinnati, OH. She worked hard and did a lot for us. We certainly appreciated her help and interest. She helped with call, seeing patients in clinic and doing minor procedures and ultrasounds. We wish her all the best wherever she goes next year when she finishes her training.

Jeff Ingram and his wife Jean came with Susan Lee and Cynthia came for a week. Jeff is an associate pastor at First Baptist Church, Fairhope, AL. They visited patients and worked with the chaplains in the hospital. They also visited churches in the surrounding villages with Tommy Harrison. We enjoyed having them and appreciate their contribution to our ministry here.

Micah Flint from INMED came with James Perry, Rick Friesen and Lawrence Lawerty from Abundant Life Baptist Church, Lee’s Summit MO. Many of our volunteers, medical students and residents come through INMED and Micah came to see what we are doing and what it is like at BMC. His wife Jennifer came to work with us several years ago as a medical student. Rick Friesen is the executive pastor of Abundant Life Baptist Church and James Perry is the Missions Chairman. They have expressed some interest in helping to support BMC and wanted to see for themselves what we are doingand what our needs are. Lawrence is a college student whose parents are Ghanaian. We enjoyed getting tomeet every one and are excited about the possibilities of working together in the future. Of course we look forward to more excellent help from INMED students. Thanks to all of you for your interest and support.

A container has just been sent to BMC with two incubators, two autoclaves, five oxygen concentrators, wheelchairs, crutches, walkers, and over 130 barrels of medical supplies, bandages, and envelopes for pharmacy use.

Special thanks to Vicki Barnes and Tabernacle Baptist’s support of the Ghana Bandage project, Pat Howard for much of the medical supplies, Tarak Garas for the incubators, Steve Rutledge of Luke19-10 ministries for an autoclave, the Oxygen Store and Clear Choice in Rome, GA for donated oxygen concentrators, the numerous volunteers who roll bandages and send envelopes, and all of you who have helped with your financial contributions!

This was provided through the George Faile Foundation . Visit their website to see how you can support medical missions in Ghana.

We have had quite a lot of volunteers since we last posted, so here is an update on volunteers since last time. These are those who finished out 2008 and started 2009. Unfortunately, I do not have pictures of everyone, but am working on getting those and will add later when available.

Dr. Gillis came to help out again when he was very much needed. He stayed for a couple of months and did a lot of surgery during that time. He also got very sick and we are glad that he survived his stay.

Dr. Paul and Dr. Cindy Shumpert came to help out again. They have continued to support BMC not only by coming to volunteer, but by helping with getting supplies and equipment and overseeing the Faile Foundation. It is always a joyto have them come. They were here together for part of the time.

Dr. April Anderson is an ER resident. She was with us for several weeks and we appreciate her help and support.

Dr. Jim Howard is an ER physician from Texas. He has been to Ghana a number of times with a team from his church, but this was his first trip to BMC. We hope that it will not be his last. He was a big help.

Dr. Fuller Robinson is a dentist who has been coming to volunteer at BMC every year since 1982. This time he brought one of his grandchildren with him. It is always a pleasure to have Fuller with us and we always look forward to his visit each year. It was nice to get to know Claire a little.

Dr. Sneller is a urologist from the Netherlands. This was his sixth visit to BMC and the first time he brought his wife with him. Dr. Sneller was help to help us with some of our urological problems and did several VVF repairs.

Jay and Mary Brittain are 4th year medical students. They did a good job and we enjoyed having them with us for several weeks. Jay is planning to go into emergency medicine and Mary Brittain is planning on doing internal medicine.

Nima and Meera are Canadian Family Practice residents. They spent several weeks with us and were a pleasure to have working here. They heard about BMC from Dr. Erle Kirby who has been here several times in the past.

Tim is a fourth year medical student who is with us for almost two months. He is doing a good job and we are enjoying having him here.  We appreciate his help.

Others who have been here in the past few months are Dr. Bertha Velandia, Dr. Bill Lee and his wife Janice, Kristen Thornton, Sarah Cooper and Scott Miller. Dr. Velandia is a Family Practice resident, Dr. Lee is a practicing physician from the US. Kristen and sarah are fourth year medical students and Scott Miller is a final year pharmacy student. I hope we will be able to add pictures of them soon.

In November the Dickens family joined us at BMC. Joel is an OB/GYN and they are planning to stay with us for two years. Hollie is home schooling Colt and taking care of Abigail and the rest of the family. Not only is it great to have an extra doctor, but the rest of the family is a welcome addition to the mission family. Please join us in praying for their continued adjustment to life here and pray for Hollie as she is expecting their third in a few months.